Welcome Back!
by applesngrapes
Summary: The mystery is over and everything can go back to normal. But nothing is ever normal in Anubis house, is it? Fabina, Patrome/Peddie, Amfie, Mickra/Jara.
1. Arrivals

**Me:"Jerome! Get in here!"  
>Jerome:"Ok, ok. Calm down. What do you want?"<br>Me:"I want you to give me the rights to HoA."  
>Jerome:"No." starts to walk away.<br>Me:"Oh, it's a bit more complicated than just saying no. I may have something to show Mick that would make him want to kill you. But you're right it's nothing important so I'll just go and show Mick."  
>Jerome:"Wait. What do you have?"<br>Me:"Oh nothing..."**

_Nina's POV_

I was sitting in the plane waiting for it to land. Ok, actually, I was squirming. I couldn't wait to see my friends. Especially Fabian and Amber, but mostly Fabian. I could barely stay in my seat. _"Calm down, Nina."_ I told myself. _"You're just going to see your friends after 3 months. No big deal, no big deal. Oh who am I kidding. It's a HUGE deal! I'm about to see the guy I kissed at prom. And my best friend and all my other friends! UGGGGGGGGGGGH! Seriously, how long does it take to get there? Oh, hurry up, hurry up!"_ We FINALLY arrived in London. I practically jumped out the window so I could get to Anubis house faster. I went through the baggage claim and hopped on the train. I figured the sooner I got on the sooner I could see everyone, but I had to wait and wait and wait for everyone else to get on. I was seriously irritated right now. We finally left the station and I couldn't help but smile. It only took about 30 minutes to reach my stop, but it felt like hours. I called a taxi and hopped in. The cabie took me to Anubis house and I stared in awe. I haven't seen this place for 3 months, so I forgot that it was this beautiful. I practically jumped out of the cab, grabbed my bag, paid the cabie, and ran inside. Trudy came in and said,

"Oh Nina sweetie. How was your summer?"

"Great!" I said while hugging her.

"Well, as great as great can get without you and your cooking." She chuckled at this.

"Is Fab-anyone else here yet?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't catch my slip up.

"Fabian isn't here yet." _"Great."_ I thought._"I wonder if Trudy knows what happened at prom."_

"The only other person here is Jerome."

"Oh. Ok, then. I should go upstais and unpack. Are we in the same rooms as las year?"

"Yes. I'll see you at supper then." With that Trudy left to the kitchen. I walked up the stairs and started to unpack.

_Fabian's POV_

I couldn't wait to see Nina! I had missed her more than Amber could ever imagine. My mum noticed my smirk and said,

"Well you seem happy. What's that about?"

"What are you talking about?" I tried to wipe the smirk off my face and change it into a confused look, but I couldn't hide my happiness. She gave me one of her "I know you're trying to hide something and you're not doing a very good job" looks.

"It's nothing, Mum, really. I'm just...excited to see my friends is all." I turned away from her hoping she would buy my excuse. She didn't.

"Is this about that Nina girl and how you kissed last year?"

"How did you know about that?" I asked confused.

"Oh a mother has her ways." she answered. I was still confused.

"I overheard you talking to Mick about it."

"Mum!" I said, annoyed.

"Sorry couldn't help it." Then she pulled up to Anubis house. I happily jumped out with my bag that wasn't shipped and my guitar. My guitar was too precious to ship. My mum started to get out of the car.

"Mum what are you doing?" I asked.

"I wanna meet this girl." she answered.

"No, no,no,no,no,no,no. That's not a good idea." I said, trying to persuade her not to come in with me.

"Why not?"

"Because, Mum, it's not cool to have your mum come in with you. Especially if Jerome or Alfie sees you because I will never live that one down."

"Ok. How about you forgot your...guitar? Then I could come in and..."

"No! Everyone knows I would NEVER forget my guitar."

"Ok how about your hat then?"

"I don't have a hat."

"Your coat?"

"Ok fine. But wait until I'm inside. And act like I actually forgot it." I said, handing her my coat. Then I left and walked into the house. Trudy came in and said,

"Oh hello Fabian sweetie. How was your summer?"

"Great. Well as great as great can be without you and your cooking."

"That's exactly what Nina said." Trudy said, chuckling. Then my mum walked in.

"Fabian, you forgot your coat."

"Oh. Thanks, Mum." I tried to act cool about it, but I have to admit, I was freaking out inside. I hoped Nina wouldn't come down the stairs while my mum was here. Unfortunatelly she did, and I looked like a total idiot, watching her come down the stairs. She looked beautiful. Like she always did. I could feel my cheeks turn red. I watched her cheeks turn red. We were both blushing because of what happened at prom.

"You must be Nina. I'm Fabian's mother, Jenna." She said while shaking Nina's hand.

_Nina's POV_

Mrs. Rutter introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you." I said. Then Mick walked in.

"Hey Fabian, Nina, Trudy, Mrs. Rutter?" he said with a confused voice.

"I forgot my coat." Fabian said.

"Oh." Then Amber, Patricia, Mara, Alfie and Joy walked in.

"Nina!" Amber screamed my name and attacked me in a hug.

"Can't...breathe!" I managed to choke out. Amber is really girly but she can give you a death hug, that's for sure. Victor came down the steps.

"Hello children welcome back!" he said with a smile on his face. Yes. Victor was smiling. All the Anubis house kids stared in disbelief. Mrs. Rutter asked,

"What are you staring at?"

"Victor. He's..he's..." Fabian managed to choke out.

"Smiling." I finished for him.

"Is that bad?" asked Mrs. Rutter. No one answered.

"Ok, now aliens don't seem so crazy." Jerome said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, I should go unpack." Fabian said, grabbing his stuff.

"Yeah, me too." Mick said. Eventually, everyone left the lobby to their rooms. As it turns out, Joy was rooming with Patricia and Mara this year. After Amber and I were done packing, we sat on our beds and talked.

"So, what about you and Fabian?" Amber smirked.

"I don't know what you mean?" I said, trying to play it off as if I had no clue what she was talking about.

"Are you an item? Is he a good kisser? Do you like his mum?" she asked. I answered questions 1 and 3.

"I don't know if we're an item. Yes, his mom is very nice."

"You didn't answer question 2."

"Uh...um..." I didn't know what to say. Fabian is a good kisser but I'm not telling Amber that.

"Come on, Neens, tell me." she pestered.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm a girl, hello." Amber was right. For some reason, girls just liked to know who was a good kisser and who wasn't. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I called, hoping to get out of the situation. It was Fabian.

"Nina, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"Sure." I answered. I gave Amber a "Leave now, please." look. She understood and left.

"Nina I was wondering if..."

"Supper!" Trudy called. We got up and left. Little did we know that we were holding hands. I was nervous about what Fabian would ask. Does he like me as more than a friend? Does he wanna be just friends? I had absolutely no idea what he wanted to ask. If only Trudy didn't interupt us. We're always getting interupted, aren't we.

**Do you like it? If not, tell me what I could do better. R & R Please!**


	2. Patrome?

**Me: "See."  
>Jerome: "So, its not like I'm threatening her."<br>Me: "True. But this isn't the picture I'm going to show him."  
>Jerome: "What are you going to show him, then?"<br>Me: "This one."  
>Jerome: "You wouldn't."<br>Me: "Believe me. I would.**

_**flashback**_

_Jerome's POV_

I saw Fabian and Nina kiss. Seriously, it took us, or should I say Amber, forever to set them up. I even let out a little "WOO-HOO!" But I also saw Mara dancing with Mick. I have to admit, I was really annoyed with Mara because she deserved someone better than that meat-head Campbell. I was kind of dancing with Patricia...and Joy. We were just sorta moving to the beat. Not really dancing together, though I wish we were. Wait. What? Did I just say I wish I was dancing with Patricia? No. No no, no. I can't like Patricia, can I? No, I like Mara. At least, I think I do. Wow! Why is love so confusing? Let's just hope Amber doesn't find out about this because she'll...I don't know what she'll do. And I don't want to know, either! "Jerome? Jerome? Earth to Jerome!" I heard. I jumped away from my thoughts and found Patricia calling to me. "The dance is over. Come on, we should get back to the house and start teasing Nina and Fabian. Or, as Amber says, Fabina. Wow! I just said that out loud." She started to walk away and I followed her reluctantly. "I love the highlights in your hair." Oh no! I hope I didn't say that out loud! I held my breath. "What did you say?" Crap! "Nothing." I said. I hope she didn't hear me and wasn't just acting.

_Patricia's POV_

Did Jerome just say what I think he said? No, he couldn't of. All though, he did seem a bit nervous when I asked him about it. Hmmmm...interesting turn of events. Well, I hope he likes me as much as I like him. "You have beautiful eyes." He whispered, as if he didn't want me to hear him. I was a bit shocked. He said that he loves the highlights in my hair, then he says that my eyes are beautiful? Wow. I. Am. Shocked. But I followed him out, hoping to hear more slip-ups. I caught up with him and we walked in silence. I saw him look over at me a couple times. I could hear him breathing heavily. Just then I noticed that I was breathing heavily, too. I have to admit, I was freaking out! What if he knew I liked him and was just messing with me? What if he liked me, too? What if I just imagined what he said to me? All these questions (and many more) were burning inside my skull. I felt a burning desire to lean up and kiss him. That would be going way, WAY too far. "Jerome," I said, not making eye contact. I saw him look at me and stop walking. I stopped walking, too. "I..." I started to say, but he kissed me. HE KISSED ME! We kissed for about 30 seconds. I was absolutely speechless. All I could do was stand there, like and idiot, and stare into his beautiful and amazing eyes. I could feel my breath become slow and become heavy. I was so amazed. His eyes were THE most beautiful things I have ever seen. "Um..." he stuttered. I kissed him again, this time wrapping my arms around his neck. He put his hands aroung my back, pulling me closer to him. We were like this for about...a minute, but it seemed more like an hour.

_Jerome's POV_

Ok. I was positive Patricia felt the same way as me. I mean, she kissed me! She was an amazing girl. I was sure she liked me. Wow, I sound like an idiot. Of course she likes me! I mean, I'm Jerome Clarke for cryin' out loud. Girls fell for me all the time. Well, girls that didn't know me too well. This was crazy. Me and Patricia? Even though it was crazy, I liked it. Oh boy. I can only imagine what kind of nickname Amber will come up with. When we stopped kissing, we broke apart without saying another word to each other. We walked as quickly as possible to the house and stepped inside immediatly. Then I quickly walked into my room as she went to hers. "Hey, mate, where have you been?" Alfie questioned me as I entered. "Oh I just took a long walk around school before coming home." I grabbed my pajama's and went to change. When I came back, there was Alfie with more questions. "Why did you walk around school? We sent Patricia to get you. Did you see her?" I answered each one of them, but I didn't answer them truthfuly. It was really agonizing. Since it was 1:00 A.M., I told Alfie I was tired and turned off the lights. I tried to sleep but I couldn't get the thought of Patricia and me kissing out of my head. It was like a skipping CD. It just kept playing over and over and over again in my head. My heart was pounding and I could barely breathe. I can't be around Patricia if I can't breathe! But I know it's just my head. I didn't get any sleep that night. I didn't think I would ever sleep again. The next morning, everyone would leave to go home after breakfast.

_Patricia's POV_

I couldn't sleep that night. All I could think about was my kiss, or should I say kisses, with Jerome. I was so confused with my feelings right now. Oh- I hate this feeling! It feels like...like...I don't even know a word for it. I don't want to talk about this to anyone, especially Jerome. If I did talk to anyone about this, it would be Mara, Joy, or Nina, because they can keep a secret. And they're my closest friends. I hope no one asks me if I found Jerome last night. If anyone does, I will deny, deny, deny. Not the whole "I'm in denial because I don't want you to know anything" just not the truth."

_**End of flashback**_

_Jerome's POV_

I had thought about that night all summer. I couldn't get it out of my head, no matter what I tried. My feelings were really messed up now. I like Mara. Then I kiss Patricia. Patricia kisses me. But did I just kiss Patricia in the heat of the moment? Or was it for a different reason? Why does the world hate me?

_Patricia's POV_

Just when I was about to start enjoying summer, it was time for school again. I was afraid to see _him_. World, you just hate me, don't you? Well, thankfully, when I got there Jerome was in his room. Victor was...smiling? I must be crazy. Note to self: If you see Victor smiling, look away. Then I went upstairs and started to unpack. Then Jerome came in.

"Hey, Patricia can I talk to you after supper?"Mara and Joy looked at me like "What's that about?"

"Yeah, sure." I answered. _"Oh no!"_ I thought. _"Here comes the relationship talk."_ I hated talks like that.

"Supper!" Trudy called. I was dreading this. I was hoping Victor would move up curfew or something, anything, that would allow me to avoid this conversation. But no. The world hated me. Why did they world have to hate me? Why?

**R & R Please! Tell me what you think. =]**


	3. Mixed Signals

**Me: "Give me the rights to HOA and you can have the picture."  
>Jerome: "You swear this picture will disappear?"<br>Me: "Yes."  
>Jerome: "Ok fine. I'll be back next chapter with the rights." *leaves room*<strong>

_Nina's POV_

As we walked into the dining room, I realized Fabian was holding my hand! Apparently, he noticed, too, and quickly pulled away. I was fine with holding his hand, I just wasn't sure if he was fine holding mine. Then I realized that _I_ was the one who took Fabian's hand. Oh no! He was going to tell me that he just wanted to be friends! He seemed happy after I kissed him, put that could have been in the heat of the moment. I'm so stupid! I'm the one who made the moves. Fabian only asked me to prom, but that could have been because of the pressure from our housemates. I wish I could just say, "Fabian, I'm getting mixed signals here. Do you like me as more than a friend or not?" But I can't. Why can't Fabian just tell me, no matter who's watching. I admit, I like privacy better, but, when the time comes the time comes. While these thoughts were going around in my head, Jerome and Alfie had started yet another food fight. And I got hit with flying spaghetti. Huh. First day I get hit with spaghetti, first day back I get hit with spaghetti. Interesting.

_Fabian's POV_

I noticed Nina and I were holding hands and broke it apart. I didn't think she was comfortable with it ,so I stopped. I wasn't sure if Nina liked me as more than a friend. I wish I wasn't so shy and that I didn't stutter when I talked to Nina about something other than the mystery. I wish I could just ask her out. Why? Why was it so hard for me to admit my feelings to someone? The world just hates me, doesn't it? _"Come on, Fabian"_ I thought. _"Be a man. Ask her out after supper."_ So I promised myself that I would ask her, and I wouldn't let anything or anyone stop me.

_Jerome's POV_

I really didn't want to talk to Trixie about...what happened at prom. But I knew we would have to talk to her about it sometime, otherwise things would always be awkward around us. Alfie through spaghetti at me and started laughing. I quickly grabbed some in my hand and threw a huge portion of spaghetti at Alfie. Unfortunately, Alfie ducked and the glob of spaghetti hit, the one and only, Patricia Williamson.

_Patricia's POV_

I'm just walking downstairs for supper and about to sit down when a huge glob of spaghetti hit me in the face. And then I figured out that it was Jerome who threw it.

"Jerome, I'm going to kill you!" I screamed. Jerome got up from his seat and took off running. I quickly followed after him and chased him aroung the ground floor. Then he ran into his room and shut the door. So I decided to trick him. I stepped on the other side of the grandfather clock and waited for him to open the door and check. He did that. When he did, I quickly ran out from behind the clock and pushed him back into his room. I slammed the door and then, Jerome started saying how sorry he was but I didn't listen. I started yelling at him and, soon enough, we were in a sort of fight-type-thing. He was pushing me and I was pushing him. Then, he grabbed me, pulled me towards him, and kissed me.


	4. Questions, Questions

**Me: "Jerome, hurry up!"  
>Jerome: "I'm back."<br>Me: "Good. Give me the rights."  
>Jerome: "No. Give me the picture first."<br>Me: "Same time then." *Gives picture gets rights*  
>Jerome: *Gives rights gets picture* "Yes! By the way, those rights are fake."<br>Me: "By the way, I have another copy of that picture."  
>Disclaimer: "applesngrapes doesn't own HOA or any of its characters."<strong>

_Nina's POV_

Jerome and Patricia were fighting. Again.

"I'm gonna go see if I can calm them down. Wish me luck." I said then left to try to calm them down. I walked in just in time to see Jerome kiss Patricia. My mouth formed a perfect "O". I couldn't believe what I just saw.

"Patricia will you be my girlfriend?" Jerome asked.

"Yes." she answered, then kissed him again. I closed the door thinking about what I just saw. I walked back to the table, my eyes still wide.

"Are you okay, Nina?" Fabian asked me.

"Yes. No. Okay, here's what happened. I walked into Jerome's room and saw him kiss Patricia. Then he asked her if she would be his girlfriend and she said yes. Then she kissed him again and I left."

Amber squealed. "Yes! I didn't even have to play matchmaker!"

"Play matchmaker for who?" Patricia asked as she and Jerome came in and sat down. Everyone just stared at them.

"What?" Jerome asked us. We all just smiled and started laughing. Jerome and Patricia were so confused.

When Amber finally caught her breath, she said, "We know you guys are dating. Nina saw the kiss, the question, the answer, the kiss."

Jerome and Patricia's faces went from confused to surprised, alarmed, and shocked.

"I'm going to make you guys a scrapbook!" Amber squealed and left the room.

"Oh no!" Patricia said. We all knew she didn't want a scrapbook. After supper was over, everyone went back to their room.

"I'm so happy for Patricia and Jerome!" Amber said.

"Me too." I said. I was still debating over whether or not Fabian wanted to date me, so I wasn't really paying attention. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I called. Fabian walked in.

"Hey, Nina, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked me.

"Yeah, sure." I said. We walked out into the hallway.

"Nina, I was wondering if you would-"

"It is ten o'clock! You have five minutes, and then I want to hear a pin...drop."

"I'll talk to you later." I said.

"Yeah." he said, kind of disappointed. He left to go downstairs. I knew Victor saw him because Victor yelled at him. As I stepped into my room, I was tackled my Amber.

"Well?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did he ask you out or not?"

"Oh. No Victor's famous pin drop interupted us."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nina. Don't worry, though, he'll ask you out tomorrow."

"Yeah, if we don't get interupted again."

"Oh! I have an idea! I'll make sure no one is around to interupt you guys! Then he can ask you!"

"Thanks, Amber. That'd be great." I said before I snuggled into my sheets and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	5. A New Clue

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me a while to update, I'm having writer's block. So this chapter might not be very good.**

**Jerome:"I'll do anything you want just please don't show picki the picture!"  
>Me:"You'll do anything?"<br>Jerome:"Yes, anything!"  
>Me:"This could be fun..."<br>Disclaimer:"applesngrapes doesn't own HOA or any of its characters, just this plot."**

_Amber's POV_

I woke up the next morning to find Nina still asleep. _"Great!"_ I thought. _"Hopefully, Fabian isn't awake yet either and then I can tell everyone to leave Fabian and Nina alone so he can ask her out."_ I jumped out of bed and got dressed. I ran downstairs and saw everyone except Fabian and Nina at the table.

"Guys!" I said. "We need to stay away from Fabian and Nina today so he can ask her out."

"Why?" Joy asked.

"So he can ask her out." I repeated.

"What makes you think he's going to ask her out?"

"Joy, everyone knows they like each other. They have been head-over-heals for each other since they met." Mick said.

"Yeah, it's really obvious." Alfie added.

"Well, he could be telling her that he's not intrested." Joy fought back. This triggered a couple of laughs from the rest of the house. I wasn't laughing. I was trying to figure out Joy's intentions. If she even tries to ruin my Fabina plan, I'll...I'll... I don't know what I'll do but I promise you it won't be /good. I'll have to ask myself WWVBD

"Look, Joy, I know you're jealous that Fabian likes Nina and not you but you don't need to be so selfish!"

"I'm not being selifsh! I'm just stating the facts! There's no proof that Fabian wants to-"

"There's no proof that I want to what?" Fabian interupted Joy. Joy froze. Everyone exchanged a couple of glances saying 'Uh-oh'. Then, we all looked at Joy. She was trying to figure out what to say. Then, Nina walked in.

"Hey guys!" she said, sounding quite happy. Then she saw all the wierd faces, and her face changed to one that looked...confused.

_Nina's POV_

I was very, very confused. I looked at Fabian and could tell he was just as confused as me. He probably just stumbled into the conversation. Like me.

"Wow. I'm tired. Got up too early I guess. I think I'm gonna go take a nap." Joy said in an uncomfortable tone. She practically ran out of the room. So much for being tired.

"Well, I'm not really hungry. I'm gonna go train. Mara, will you help me?" Mick said. I was surprised, Mick was always hungry.

"Yeah, sure." Mara said in response to Mick's question. Come to think of it, I say "Yeah, sure." alot. Especially to Fabian. One-by-one, everyone made an excuse to leave, leaving Fabian and I alone. Perfect. Now if only he would just ask me out.

"Well, that was weird." Fabian said.

"Yeah, it was." I knew what was going on, but I wasn't completely lying. Joy was acting weird, so I based it on that. As I was walking to sit down, I hit my foot on one of the table legs and a piece of paper fell on my foot. I reached down and picked it up.

"Look at this." I said to Fabian as I sat down next to him to show it to him.

"Woah." he said.

**Okay, I'm having writers block so if you guys could give me ideas for a riddle or have another idea of something else that the paper could say, I'd apprciate it. And I will givee credit to the user who gives it to me. Thnx 4 reading, review please =D**


	6. Returns

**Hey guys! I'm still having Writer's Block, so this chapter might...suck, so please no flamers.  
>On with the disclaimer...<br>Jerome:"Do I seriously have to do this?"  
>Me:"If you want this picture to disapear, then you'll do it."<br>Jerome:"Fine." *hangs head in defeat* "I'll do it." *finds microphone then sings in a girly voice with pink lipstick and a hot pink dress on* "I could tell you his favorite color's green. He loves to argue. Born on the seventeenth. His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes. And if you asked me if I loved him...I'd lie."  
>Me:*Closes video camera* "Hello, youtube."<strong>

_Nina's POV_

"When light is at it's highest, the Eyes come out to play."** (A/N: I know it didn't rhyme, but not all poems rhyme.)** I said.

"What do you think it means?" he asked.

"I have no idea." I answered. We were whispering for safety reasons. Actually, it's in case Mick and Mara come in. Mick and Mara. Mickra, Mickara, Mira, Marick, Mark. Wow, there are a lot of couple names for two people with M names. Fabina, Fina, Nabian. And there are very little names for mine and Fabian's names.

"Nina? Nina!" Fabian called.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry, I had a daydream." I answered.

"What about?" Oh no! Now I have to make up a lie! And I'm not the best at that.

"Oh...it was about...dogs!" I shouted. Oh there is no _way_ he'll believe that. He gave me a suspicious look.

"Nina, you're not the bast liar." he said, trying to be as nice as possible about it. He was so sweet. Okay, now what do I say? I was thinking for too long, apparently, because he took my hand in his.

"Nina, please tell me the truth." he said. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't lie when I looked into his eyes.

"I was thinking about how many couple names Mick and Mara had, because they're names both start with M's, I didn't think there'd be very many but there's..." I paused as I counted. "5."

"Why did you think of names for Mick and Mara?"

"Because we were whispering so Mick and Mara wouldn't hear, and somehow, I don't know how, it got onto the subject of couple names." I gave him a small smile. He smiled back with a sympathetic look. _"Oh no!"_, I thought, _"He's going to tell me he's not interested in me, isn't he?"_

"Nina, I've been wanting to ask you something for a while now..." he said, still holding my hand. Ask? Did he say ask? He might ask me out. Maybe he used the wrong word. Maybe I kissed him too soon. I have got to pay attention.

"Nina? Were you listening?" Fabian said. Wow. Ok enough daydreaming. Time to stay focused.

"What? No, sorry. I was daydreaming." I said.

"I asked you if..." But he was interrupted by a loud scream. Then Patricia came into the room, still screaming.

"I saw.."

**Who or what do you think she saw? Review please! :)**


	7. A Plan?

**Hey guys! I'm back. I'm having Writer's Block on-and-off so...yeah. Here's the disclaimer.  
>Me:*about to upload video to youtube when power dies* "Darn it!"<br>Jerome:"Oh! Too bad!" *smirks*  
>Me:"You did this, didn't you?"<br>Jerome:"It's a possibility."  
>Me:*takes out phone and dials numbers* "Yeah, Rufus? It's me. I think I have someone here you know..."<br>If you didn't get this scene, I don't own HOA. But if I believe in myself, I will...never own it :(**

_Nina's POV_

Patricia burst into the room.

"I saw Rufus kidnap Mara!" she screeched.

"What happened to Mara?" Mick asked, coming into the room. Amber was just entering when Patricia said Rufus kidnapped Mara.

"A psycho maniac kidnapped you girlfriend!" Amber told Mick. Amber, keep your mouth shut! Fabian, Patricia and I all gave Amber a death glare.

"What? He deserves to know that the maniac you locked us in the history classroom during prom and almost killed me and Alfie kidnapped his girlfriend!" She said. Fabian slapped his hand against his forehead.

"Are you serious? Why would someone kidnap Mara? What did she ever do?" Mick asked, worried.

"It's not what she did: it's what _we_ did! We double crossed him and now he's getting revenge and he's going to blackmail us!" Patricia said. Looks like we have no choice but to tell Mick.

"Who's going to blackmail you?" Jerome asked as him and Alfie took there seats at the table and started to eat.

"Rufus." Fabian told them. They both froze and looked at each other, then at the rest of us.

"What did he do?" Alfie asked, quite serious.

"He kidnapped Mara!" Patricia said again.

"This is not good." Jerome said.

"Really? Oh, I thought it was the best thing ever." Patricia said sarcastically.

"Poor Mara! She doesn't even know him and he kidnaps her. He must've seen her walking with us or something." Amber said, very sympathetic.

"And he doesn't even know her name!" Mick said, worried.

"Knowing Rufus, he probably does." I said. Sibuna gave me little 'that's so true' looks.

"How would he know her name?" Mick asked.

"I don't know-it's Rufus! He's always one step ahead!" I almost shouted. I was angry, can you blame me?

"It'll be okay. We've out-smarted him before, we can do it again." Fabian said. More to me than anyone else. He is so sweet. Maybe he asked me out when I wasn't paying attention. Knowing Fabian, it was probably hard for him to ask me the first time. It takes a lot of courage for a guy like Fabian to ask a girl out. And then to find out that they didn't hear you, you're probably really disappointed and discouraged. Maybe I should ask Fabian. Nah, I'll do it the traditional way. Maybe.

"Okay, so we need to think of a plan. Nina?" Fabian asked.

"Don't look at me. I used all my plans last term. And it can't have me lying in it. We all know I'm terrible at that." A chorus of 'oh yeah's broke out.

"Guys! You're suppossed to say I'm not that bad of a liar." I said, quite defensive.

"You're not that bad of a liar." Fabian said.

"Little late, Fabian." I responded. Then, an idea came to me. "I have an idea!" I said. "All we have to do is..."

**I have a couple ideas for the plan. I just don't know which I will use. Review please! :)**


	8. Visions

**Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to update, I've been deciding which plan to use and I have been working on a Pason one-shot. I might also do a Jara one-shot. I don't know. Anyway, here's the disclaimer...(this is just a disclaimer, not a big ramble like I normally do)  
>Disclaimer: I don't own HOA. If I did, I would give you a direct answer about season 2, not keep you guessing. And the chapter...<strong>

_Nina's POV_

"All we have to do is think as if we were Rufus. It shouldn't be to hard. So, everyone, just pretend you're Rufus and think of what you would do and where you would take a girl." Everyone closed their eyes and tried to think. It was funny to watch their faces. Then, I went into some kind of...trance like thing. I saw Mara...sitting on a chair in a room with a concrete floor and walls. Her hands were tied tightly behind her, also tied to the chair. Her feet were wound tightly to the chair legs. She had duct tape over her mouth and she was slung forward, like she had been beaten. She had a bruise on her knee, so I figured she had been beaten. Her hair was all knotted up, as if he had dragged her by her hair, which her probably did.

"Mara." I said, trying to communicate with her, but I knew she couldn't hear me. At least, I _thought_ she couldn't hear me. But as soon as I said her name, her head popped up.

"Mhmh?" she said. I think she was saying Nina, but I'm not sure. Then, the trance ended.

"Nina? Nina, are you alright?" Fabian asked me.

"Huh? Oh...um...sort of. I...I just saw Mara." I told everyone.

"What do you mean you just saw Mara?" Joy asked, entering the room. I forgot she had moved in. Patricia explained and Joy quickly became in the loop.

"Anyway," I continued, "I saw Mara in a vision or whatever you wanna call it. She was in a concrete room and tied to a chair. She had been beaten and looked really weak. She had duct tape over her mouth. I called to her, and I think she heard me because she tried to say something, but, with duct tape over her mouth, I couldn't understand her." Mick looked absolutely appauled. Fabian gave Mick a sympathetic look. We all did, I think.

"How could anyone do that to her? She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met." Mick stated. He was a bit upset. Poor Mick. I hope Mara makes it through.

"Stay strong, Mara." I whispered. No one heard me. Maybe Mara did, though. I hope she heard me.

**So, what did you think? This isn't one of my best chapters. So I would understand if you didn't like it, but please, no flamers. Review please!**


	9. Where's Mara

**Hey! Sorry it took so long to update. I've been really busy lately. Plus I've had a little bit of writers block. I've been working on this chapter bit by bit, so it isn't really put together. Anyway, here's the disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would of announced season 2 in March. And here's the chapter.**

_**Mara's POV**_

"Stay strong, Mara." I heard someone say. No one was around, so I just guessed it was some wierd communication thing. The voice sounded like Nina. Was this in my head? Was this all a dream? Am I really here? Am I really alive? Am I dead? I didn't know the answer to any of these questions. Then I heard the door of this...cell thing open. That man who kidnapped me walked in.

"Hello, Mara." he said. "Are you ready to tell me where the cup is?" he said as he ripped the duct tape off my mouth. I let a yelp escape my lips.

"What cup? I don't know what you're talking about!" I stated. He slapped my face.

"Well then, I'll just use you as bait for your pathetic little friends." he said and walled out. At least he forgot to put duct tape on my mouth. I slumped back into the chair and hung my head in defeat. I wish someone would save me. Like Mick. If only he knew.

_**Fabian's POV**_

I am so worried about Mara. We aren't close friends or anything, but I don't want anyone to get hurt. Nina said she had some sort of vision or something. Probably because she is the Chosen One. I hope she isn't upset about being the Chosen One, because the first time I brought it up, she freaked out.

"So, Nina, do you remember what the room looked like?" Mick asked.

"Um, yeah. It had concreate walls and floors. Nothing flashy. It reminded me of a prison cell." Nina told him.

"Prison cell?" Amber screeched. "How do you know what a prison cell looks like!"

"Uh, the movies." Nina said in a 'duh' voice. She then gave Amber a 'sorry' look.

"Wait. This place looked like a prison cell?" Joy asked. Nina nodded. "Well, did you see any windows or anything?"

"Uh, yeah. There were one or two windows, but they were barred up." Nina answered.

"That reminds me of this building over on Castle Street. It was at the end of the road and looked like an old holding cell or something just out in the middle of nowhere." Joy said.

"So, you know how to get there?" Mick asked Joy. Joy nodded.

"It's not too far it would probably take a few hours to walk there and back. I bet we could get our bikes and ride up there." Joy said.

"Alright, but not all of us can go. Victor will be suspicious. I'm definately going." Nina said.

"Well, if Nina's going, Fabian is going too." Amber said. I rolled my eyes. "Who else is going?" she asked.

"I'm going." Joy said, glaring at Nina. Nina looked a bit uncomfortable. I placed my hand on her arm and gave her a sympathetic look.

"And I'm going." Mick said.

"Okay, looks like that should be enough." I said. "We'll go at lunch. Then we can say that we are going to lunch off campus. Oh, and no one tell Victor, okay?" Nina said. Everyone nodded their heads. At lunch, we would go find Mara.

"Wow, Nina. I never thought you'd be one to be so...freewheeling. You either, Fabian." Mick said, shocked. This earned him a couple chuckles from everyone else.

**~Almost lunch~ **

_**Nina's POV**_

I was sitting next to Fabian in the common room at school. Classes don't start until next week, but we were reading about Egyptian hieroglyphics. It was almost lunch. I haven't talked to Mara since this morning (in my vision). My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Mick.

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

"Hey, Nina. Joy and I are at the house, waiting to leave. Are you ready? And, are you with Fabian?"

"Yes, and yes. I'll be there soon. Bye." I hung up. I grabbed my bag and ran out the school doors and to the moore of Anubis house.

"Woah, slow down." Fabian said as he caught up with me.

"Sorry, I was just in a hurry to get going." I apologized. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as soon as he saw Mick and Joy approaching us.

"Hey." Joy said, glaring at me. I looked down. I don't know why she's acting so hostile towards me today.

"Hey." Fabian said back. Joy stopped glaring at me for a few seconds and started smiling at Fabian. _"Of course,"_ I thought. _"All he wanted to tell me this morning was that he wanted me to back off so he could be with Joy, he just doesn't want to crush my heart when I see him with Joy."_ I shook it off and put on a happy face.

"Alright, let's get going." I stated and took off toward the bike shed. Fabian quickly caught up with me.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit upset." Fabian asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I told him, avoiding eye contact. Mick and Joy were trailing far behind us.

"Nina," Fabian started. "I know something's up. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I told him.

"Nina, tell me please." Fabian said.

"I don't want to talk about it, Fabian." I stated. Just as I finished talking, a tripped on a rock. Fabian caught me before I could hit the ground.

"Thanks." I said as I got my balance back. I looked up into his eyes and realized that our faces weren't more than two inches apart. His arms were still around my waist from helping me steady myself. Suddenly, he started to close the space. Our lips met and I felt a few sparks. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he got a better hold on my waist. The kiss lasted about 10 seconds. It would have lasted longer if it weren't for...

**Well, what did you think? Fabina finally kissed again, but they aren't officially together (yet). Please give me feedback. Again, I'm sorry it took so long to update. Please review! **


	10. Finding Mara

**Hey, guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I got grounded because I didn't wash the dishes. Yeah, my parents are really strict. **

**I own nothing, so don't ask. **

**Also, if you guys could check out the poll on my profile, that'd be great.**

**Recap is in **_**italics**_.

_**Nina's POV**_

_The kiss lasted about 10 seconds._ _It would have lasted longer if it weren't for..._

"Guys!" Mick yelled, carrying Joy in his arms. "Joy's fainted!"

"What?" Fabian (almost) yelled.

"Yeah, she just collapsed!" Mick screeched.

"Okay, new plan. Mick, you take Joy to Trudy. Fabian and I will go save Mara." I told them.

"But I want to be there when you guys find Mara!" Mick whined.

"Mick, we'll tell Mara you were going to come but got stuck at school, alright?" Fabian reasoned.

"Fine. I'll see you guys later. And...be careful. We don't need two more people being kidnapped." Mick said as he ran back to the house. Fabian and I grabbed our bikes and peddled up to Castle Street. Neither of us knew how to get there, but Fabian had GPS on his phone, so he figured it out. I saw an old prison like thing at the end of the road. We peddled up to it and proped our bikes up against the stone outer wall. I was hoping that Rufus was gone and it was just Mara here, if she was here at all.

"Come on." Fabian said, taking my hand and pulling me along with him. We came around to the back and saw an old wooden door carved into the stone. Fabian pulled on the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. He let go of my hand and pulled harder, but it still wouldn't budge.

"It's stuck! Now what are we gonna do?" I yelled. Suddenly, my locket started to glow. I held it up to the door and it swung open.

"Woah." Fabian said. He had already started walking through the long hallway. I stepped inside. There were hieroglyphics all along the wall.

"Woah." I repeated. This was so cool. "Why do you think they are here?" I asked him.

"I don't know." he replyed. He had on his "thinking frown", so I knew he was thinking about it. "Maybe it has something to do with the riddle." he said.

"Maybe." I told him. I touched the wall and instantly had a vision. It was of Mara, on the other side of the wall. She was silently crying. Rufus wasn't anywhere. As soon as the vision ended, I removed my hand from the wall. "Fabian!" I exclaimed. "Mara is on the other side of this wall."

"How do you know?" he asked me.

"I may have had a vision." I told him.

"Oh, okay then. How do we get through the wall?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe there's a door somewhere down this hallway." I said. We started walking down the hallway. There wasn't much light, and it kept getting darker the farther we went. At one point, I could barely see anything.

"Maybe we should turn back," Fabian said, fear in his voice. "And come back with a torch."

"No! We're to far to go back now! I don't know if Mara can take another beating." I told him. He continued to follow me, even though he didn't want to go any further. "You can go back if you want to." I told him.

"No!" he said almost instantly. "I don't want to go back without you." He seemed to have realized what he said, because he changed his sentence. "I mean, I'm fine. I don't need to go back." I was about to tell him that he could go back again, but I ran into something.

"Ow!" I screeched as a fell backwards. Fabian caught me.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he helped me steady myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I turned back to the door and felt around for a door knob. There wasn't one. Instead, I felt a carving. My locket started to glow, so I put it into the carving and the door opened. Inside I saw Mara. "Mara!" I yelled and ran to her. She looked up at me and smiled

"Nina!" she exclaimed. I quickly untied her and helped her stand up.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm alright." she said.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I walked towards the door and she followed closely behind. Fabian held the door open for us. We came back to the entrance and stepped through it. As soon as all three of us were outside, we heard a car pull up. I peered around the corner, where our bikes were, and saw Rufus heading towards us.

"Rufus!" I silently yelled. We ran to the other side of the building to hide. We heard a clinging sound, which we asumed was Rufus messing with our bikes. We heard the door open (how on Earth Rufus opened it was a mystery to me) and close. I walked back to where our bikes were. They were completely recked.

"I guess we're going on foot." I said. We walked back to Anubis house, which took a good hour and a half. But it was worth it because we found Mara and she was safe again. For now.

**And done! What did you think? This is one of the longer chapters. Again, sorry it took me so long. Review please!**


	11. AN

**Hola everyone!**

**I'm updating again! Sorry, I would have updated yesterday, but I had to go to my aunt's house, which I had no idea I was going.**

**I own nothing except this plot.**

**Check out that poll on my profile, please?**

_**Mara's POV**_

We walked onto the moore of Anubis house. I couldn't walk very well, so Fabian and Nina were helping me. We walked through the doors. I sighed with relief. I was so glad to be back. Mick walked out from the common room.

"Mara!" He exclaimed when he saw me. He picked me up and spun me around. As soon as he set me down, my ankle popped.

"Ow!" I screeched. Pain shot up my leg.

"Are you alright?" Mick asked.

"No! My ankle. I can't walk." I told him. He picked me up bridal style, relieving some of the pain. He took me to my room and laid me down on my bed. Patricia looked up from the magazine she was reading and saw me.

"Mara!" she said. She came over and gave me a hug. "I've missed you so much! How are you? Are you hurt?" she asked.

"I've missed you, too, Patricia! I'm fine, just a sprained ankle, I think." I said. After I said that, Joy walked in. She looked over and saw me.

"Mara, you're back!" she exclaimed. She walked over and hugged me. Patricia sat down on the edge of my bed, and Mick sat in my desk chair. Victor walked in.

"Hello, Miss Jaffray. I'm glad you're back." Victor said, smiling. He was being really creepy lately. "I have some business to discuss with you, Miss Mercer and Miss Williamson." Mick got up in left.

"What do you want to tell us?" Joy asked.

"One of you needs to move up into the attic. We are having it cleaned. I will give you three one day to decide who will be moving." Victor told us. We nodded and he left the room.

"Well, who wants to move up to the attic?" I asked. Patricia and Joy looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"I don't. It's probably haunted and has rats running around." Joy said.

"I'd rather not." Patricia said.

"Well, I guess I'll go then. Nina did say she thought it was pretty cool." I said. I wasn't reallyy happy about moving up to the attic, but Patricia and Joy are best friends, so I don't really have a choice.

"Um, no, that's alright. I'll move up there, if you don't want to Mara. Old, creepy stuff is kind of my scene." Patricia said.

"No, I want to move up there." I said. I was starting to like the idea more and more.

"Okay, then. Mara will move up to the attic. Guess we better go tell Victor." Joy stated.

"I'll tell him." I said. I stood up, then pain shot up my leg. "Ouch!" I screeched. I forgot my ankle was hurt.

"Are you okay?" Patricia asked, worried. I sat back down on the bed.

"Yeah, I am...now." I said.

"I'll go tell him." Joy said. She stood up and walked into the hallway.

"I'm going to go get you an ice pack." Patricia said. She left the room.

_**Joy's POV**_

I walked over to Victor's office.

I was about to knock when he quietly screeched, "No! They won't find out Eric. They don't suspect anything."

I crouched down and scooted to the side to hear more of the conversation. "Of course I know that! These little brats don't suspect us doing anything. They think they solved the only mystery their was. No need to worry. No need at all." I heard him say. I heard a muffled voice, which I assumed was Mr. Sweet's. I couldn't quite make out the words.

"No, they won't find out. I highly doubt they would want to get involved in another mystery. Especially one that could put them in even more danger than last year." Then I heard more muffled talking. "Goodbye, Eric." I heard the phone hang up.

"The children are going to be real pests this year, Corbierre. I can feel it." Victor said to Corbierre. I ran back into the girls' corridor and knocked on Nina and Amber's door. Amber opened it.

"Can I come in? I have something really important to say tell you guys." Amber stepped back a bit and welcomed me inside. I walked in and turnded to see Nina.

"Joy, what's up?" Nina asked.

"Okay, well, it's about Victor. I over heard him talking to Mr. Sweet on the phone. They were talking about another mystery. And how we wouldn't want to get involved because it could be more dangerous than the one last year."

"What?" Amber said, shocked. "I really didn't like being involved last year, and I certainly don't want to be in another one. But, at the same time, I want to be a Sibuna because then I'll know what's going on." Amber was talking to herself. I don't know how Nina puts up with that. Well, I don't really care what happens to Nina. If she would happen to disappear like I did, I would have Fabes and she would be gone and I could do exactly what she did to me. Woah, wait. Why am I thinking like this? Nina seems nice. And, she didn't mean to do that to me, it just happened like that. I can't help wondering where Fabes and I would be if I hadn't disappeared. Would we be dating now? Unfortunately, I would never know the answer to this question.

"We need to have a Sibuna meeting. Plus we still have to initiate Jerome, Joy, Mara, and Mick into Sibuna."

"I'll go tell everyone." Amber said. She left the room. While Amber was gone I decided to talk about Fabian.

"So, you like Fabes, huh?" I said, putting my hands in my back pockets.

"Um, yeah. It it really that obvious?" she asked, not making eye contact. Wonder why?

"Yeah. You guys _did_ kiss last year." I said. She gave me a little have smile.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her. She seemed a bit uncomfortable. Not that I'm complaining, but she might know how to win Fabes over.

"No, everything's fine. Well, actually, there's something I need to know and I was hoping you could give me the answer. It's about Fabian." she said.

"I'll give it a shot." The truth is, before I disapeared, it seemed like Fabian was drifting away from me. And now that I'm back, it feels like I've completely lost him. But, I'm sure that's just my imagination. Fabes is still into me, right? Right.

"I was wanting to know if..." she was interupted when everyone burst in through the door. I moved over towards the shelf with the little glass houses on them. They were Nina's, I assumed, since they were on her side of the room. Fabian sat down next to Nina. I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me. I just wanted to run up to him and kiss him so badly. But, I have to talk to him about Nina first.

"Joy, tell everyone else what you told Nina and I." Amber commanded. I repeated what I told Amber and Nina to everyone.

"So that's why Victor's acting all creepy! He has another mystery going!" Amber had a 'eureka!' moment.

"Yeah, well, I think we should have a vote on who gets to be in on the mystery, just in case some people don't want to be in it." Nina said. I saw Fabian look at her with a look in his eye. A look I used to see when he looked at me. "Anyone who _doesn't _want to be in Sibuna, leave the room. Everyone looked around to see who would leave. No one did.

"Okay then, looks like we'll all be in on the mystery. Now, Nina and I found the first clue at the supper table this morning." Fabian said. I love his voice. "And, when we rescued Mara, we saw a bunch of hieroglyphics and writing in a diferent language. I think it was Dutch."

"I think that the writing has to do with the clue, because there were a lot of eyes on the wall. And we might have to go there at dawn to figure it out. There's probably something you can only see at dawn." Nina said.

"Well, do you remember the writing?" Mick asked.

"Um, sort of. It said-" Fabian started, but Nina interupted him.

"Wait! Before we tell you, we need to initiate Mick, Mara, Jerome, and Joy into Sibuna. So that way we know we can trust you." Nina said.

"Great! Let's go out to the meeting spot and start the initiations! I already have everyone's things." Amber said. She happily skipped out of the room. Next it was Jerome, then Mara, Mick, Alfie, Patricia, Nina, Fabian, and lastly me. I wanted to keep an eye on Nina and Fabes.

We walked out onto the moore of Anubis house. We walked into the woods and found a walkway. Nina and Fabes were walking rather close, and I got closer to them so I could hear what they were saying.

"...on the internet." I heard Fabian finish.

"Well, yeah. But, we'll have to go back there to make sure we're right. And we have to go there at dawn."

"I know. School starts in two days. What if it takes a while to decode what it says? Then we'll either have to ditch school or only go on weekends." Fabian told her.

"Well, we could ditch school one, maybe two times, but if we did it anymore, they would get suspicious." Nina said.

"Yeah, you're right. They would know something was up if it was one of the 'good kids' that ditched. As in, you, Mara, me, and Amber." Fabian said. At that point, we had reached the meeting spot and everyone filed out to a different log. Nina and Fabian sat across from each other. I took this as my chance to talk Fabes out of this whole 'Nina drama', as I called it. I walked over and sat on the same log as Fabes.

"Hey, Fabes." I said as I sat down.

"Hey." he said, avoiding eye contact. I followed his gaze and realized that he was looking at Nina who was talking to Jerome. I looked back at him. His face had jealousy written all over it. I knew it was going to take some work to pull him out of this trance he was in.

"Okay. Everyone, please stand." Amber started. Everyone stood. I tried to touch Fabian's hand, but he put them in his pockets before I could. "Okay, now all new Sibuna members, step forward. Jerome, Mick, Mara, and I took a few steps toward the fire.

Amber reached into the big bag she was carrying and pulled out a football **(soccer ball in America) **and passed it to Mick.

She then took out a science book and passed it to Mara.

Next, she took out a "Pranks Weekly" magazine and gave it to Jerome. Lastly, she took out my favorite Twilight poster.

"Now, everyone throw the sacrifices into the fire." Amber told us. We all looked at her, shocked.

"No! I can't. I haven't finished reading this one yet!" Jerome sqeaked.

"This is my autographed football. The _only_ autographed football I have! I can't!" Mick screamed.

"I'm can't! This is my most favorite poster I've ever gotten!" I yelled.

"No! No, no, no, no, no. I'm only halfway through the second chapter!" Mara screeched.

"If you want to be a Sibuna, you have to do it." Amber told us. I frowned and threw my poster into the fire. Then, I stepped back next to Fabes.

Mara looked around desperately, trying to find an excuse, but she evntually nodded and threw her book into the fire. Then, she stepped back next to Amber.

Jerome closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then threw his magazine into the fire. He took a step back to Nina.

Mick felt around frantically in his pockets. With nothing else to sacrafice, he reluctantly threw in his football. Then, he stepped back next to Fabian.

"Joy, step forward, please." Amber said. I took a step forward. "Repeat after me. I, Joy Mercer, being of sound and mind, promise to protect the treasure of Anubis house and all its secrets."

"I, Joy Mercer, being of sound and mind, promise to protect the treasure of Anubis house and all its secrets." I repeated. Everyone else did the same. We all walked back to the house, Amber in the lead.

~**Back at the house~**

We got back just before supper. That night, we had spaghetti. Of course, Jerome and Alfie started a food fight. Before I knew it, there was spaghetti in my hair and all over my top. I left the room to take a shower. After my shower, I went down to talk to Fabes. I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I heard Fabian say. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hi, Fabes." I said.

"Hey." he said. He was on his laptop.

"Fabian, there's something I want to talk about with you." I told him. He looked at me, closed his laptop and looked up at me.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk about us...and Nina." I told him nervously.

"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Well, I was just wondering...if you like Nina?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. Everyone does." he replied. He obviously didn't get what I was saying.

"No, I mean...as more than a friend." I said nervously.

"Oh, um..." he started, a blush forming on his cheeks. Then, at that exact moment, Nina came in.

"Oh, sorry, I should have knocked. Um, did I interupt something?" she asked.

"No, no, of course not." Fabian told her.

"I think I did, so I'll just...come back later." she said as she left the room.

"So, as you were saying...?" I urged.

"Oh, right. Um...yeah...I do." he told me.

"You don't sound like you're sure." I said. I was hoping he was just saying that.

"Well, it's...just kind of awkward...to talk about." he stuttered.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It's just...no one really asks about my personal feelings...except her." Fabian said refering to Nina.

"Well, I care about you." I said.

"You do?" he asked, suspicion in his voice.

"Of course." I said, flashing him a smile. He gave me a half smile in return.

"What did you mean before, when you said you wanted to talk about...us?" he asked. My smile disappeared.

"Oh, that. It's just that I...I thought you...liked me." I said.

"Well, of course I like you. You're one of my good mates." he told me. Good mates? I thought we were more than that, but I guess not.

"No, I mean, I thought you liked me as...more than a friend." I said.

**Oooh, a cliffy! This was a really long chapter and I figured I could rap it up there. You won't know what Fabian's response will be until I update again. I will update ASAP. **

**The reason it took me forever is that I had to go to my aunt's house (as mentioned above) yesterday, and today I had to go to my best friends house (I was planning to finish writting this last night, then publish it today before I left). Again, I'm sorry it took so long. School is starting this Wednesday, so it'll be a lot harder for me to update. Plus, I'm helping my sister move into her apartment on the 21****st**** (which is also my birthday, and Brad Kavanagh's). **

**Oh, yeah, one more thing: Review please!**


	12. New Members

**Hola everyone!**

**I'm updating again! Sorry, I would have updated yesterday, but I had to go to my aunt's house, which I had no idea I was going.**

**I own nothing except this plot.**

**Check out that poll on my profile, please?**

_**Mara's POV**_

We walked onto the moore of Anubis house. I couldn't walk very well, so Fabian and Nina were helping me. We walked through the doors. I sighed with relief. I was so glad to be back. Mick walked out from the common room.

"Mara!" He exclaimed when he saw me. He picked me up and spun me around. As soon as he set me down, my ankle popped.

"Ow!" I screeched. Pain shot up my leg.

"Are you alright?" Mick asked.

"No! My ankle. I can't walk." I told him. He picked me up bridal style, relieving some of the pain. He took me to my room and laid me down on my bed. Patricia looked up from the magazine she was reading and saw me.

"Mara!" she said. She came over and gave me a hug. "I've missed you so much! How are you? Are you hurt?" she asked.

"I've missed you, too, Patricia! I'm fine, just a sprained ankle, I think." I said. After I said that, Joy walked in. She looked over and saw me.

"Mara, you're back!" she exclaimed. She walked over and hugged me. Patricia sat down on the edge of my bed, and Mick sat in my desk chair. Victor walked in.

"Hello, Miss Jaffray. I'm glad you're back." Victor said, smiling. He was being really creepy lately. "I have some business to discuss with you, Miss Mercer and Miss Williamson." Mick got up in left.

"What do you want to tell us?" Joy asked.

"One of you needs to move up into the attic. We are having it cleaned. I will give you three one day to decide who will be moving." Victor told us. We nodded and he left the room.

"Well, who wants to move up to the attic?" I asked. Patricia and Joy looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"I don't. It's probably haunted and has rats running around." Joy said.

"I'd rather not." Patricia said.

"Well, I guess I'll go then. Nina did say she thought it was pretty cool." I said. I wasn't reallyy happy about moving up to the attic, but Patricia and Joy are best friends, so I don't really have a choice.

"Um, no, that's alright. I'll move up there, if you don't want to Mara. Old, creepy stuff is kind of my scene." Patricia said.

"No, I want to move up there." I said. I was starting to like the idea more and more.

"Okay, then. Mara will move up to the attic. Guess we better go tell Victor." Joy stated.

"I'll tell him." I said. I stood up, then pain shot up my leg. "Ouch!" I screeched. I forgot my ankle was hurt.

"Are you okay?" Patricia asked, worried. I sat back down on the bed.

"Yeah, I am...now." I said.

"I'll go tell him." Joy said. She stood up and walked into the hallway.

"I'm going to go get you an ice pack." Patricia said. She left the room.

_**Joy's POV**_

I walked over to Victor's office.

I was about to knock when he quietly screeched, "No! They won't find out Eric. They don't suspect anything."

I crouched down and scooted to the side to hear more of the conversation. "Of course I know that! These little brats don't suspect us doing anything. They think they solved the only mystery their was. No need to worry. No need at all." I heard him say. I heard a muffled voice, which I assumed was Mr. Sweet's. I couldn't quite make out the words.

"No, they won't find out. I highly doubt they would want to get involved in another mystery. Especially one that could put them in even more danger than last year." Then I heard more muffled talking. "Goodbye, Eric." I heard the phone hang up.

"The children are going to be real pests this year, Corbierre. I can feel it." Victor said to Corbierre. I ran back into the girls' corridor and knocked on Nina and Amber's door. Amber opened it.

"Can I come in? I have something really important to say tell you guys." Amber stepped back a bit and welcomed me inside. I walked in and turnded to see Nina.

"Joy, what's up?" Nina asked.

"Okay, well, it's about Victor. I over heard him talking to Mr. Sweet on the phone. They were talking about another mystery. And how we wouldn't want to get involved because it could be more dangerous than the one last year."

"What?" Amber said, shocked. "I really didn't like being involved last year, and I certainly don't want to be in another one. But, at the same time, I want to be a Sibuna because then I'll know what's going on." Amber was talking to herself. I don't know how Nina puts up with that. Well, I don't really care what happens to Nina. If she would happen to disappear like I did, I would have Fabes and she would be gone and I could do exactly what she did to me. Woah, wait. Why am I thinking like this? Nina seems nice. And, she didn't mean to do that to me, it just happened like that. I can't help wondering where Fabes and I would be if I hadn't disappeared. Would we be dating now? Unfortunately, I would never know the answer to this question.

"We need to have a Sibuna meeting. Plus we still have to initiate Jerome, Joy, Mara, and Mick into Sibuna."

"I'll go tell everyone." Amber said. She left the room. While Amber was gone I decided to talk about Fabian.

"So, you like Fabes, huh?" I said, putting my hands in my back pockets.

"Um, yeah. It it really that obvious?" she asked, not making eye contact. Wonder why?

"Yeah. You guys _did_ kiss last year." I said. She gave me a little have smile.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her. She seemed a bit uncomfortable. Not that I'm complaining, but she might know how to win Fabes over.

"No, everything's fine. Well, actually, there's something I need to know and I was hoping you could give me the answer. It's about Fabian." she said.

"I'll give it a shot." The truth is, before I disapeared, it seemed like Fabian was drifting away from me. And now that I'm back, it feels like I've completely lost him. But, I'm sure that's just my imagination. Fabes is still into me, right? Right.

"I was wanting to know if..." she was interupted when everyone burst in through the door. I moved over towards the shelf with the little glass houses on them. They were Nina's, I assumed, since they were on her side of the room. Fabian sat down next to Nina. I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me. I just wanted to run up to him and kiss him so badly. But, I have to talk to him about Nina first.

"Joy, tell everyone else what you told Nina and I." Amber commanded. I repeated what I told Amber and Nina to everyone.

"So that's why Victor's acting all creepy! He has another mystery going!" Amber had a 'eureka!' moment.

"Yeah, well, I think we should have a vote on who gets to be in on the mystery, just in case some people don't want to be in it." Nina said. I saw Fabian look at her with a look in his eye. A look I used to see when he looked at me. "Anyone who _doesn't _want to be in Sibuna, leave the room. Everyone looked around to see who would leave. No one did.

"Okay then, looks like we'll all be in on the mystery. Now, Nina and I found the first clue at the supper table this morning." Fabian said. I love his voice. "And, when we rescued Mara, we saw a bunch of hieroglyphics and writing in a diferent language. I think it was Dutch."

"I think that the writing has to do with the clue, because there were a lot of eyes on the wall. And we might have to go there at dawn to figure it out. There's probably something you can only see at dawn." Nina said.

"Well, do you remember the writing?" Mick asked.

"Um, sort of. It said-" Fabian started, but Nina interupted him.

"Wait! Before we tell you, we need to initiate Mick, Mara, Jerome, and Joy into Sibuna. So that way we know we can trust you." Nina said.

"Great! Let's go out to the meeting spot and start the initiations! I already have everyone's things." Amber said. She happily skipped out of the room. Next it was Jerome, then Mara, Mick, Alfie, Patricia, Nina, Fabian, and lastly me. I wanted to keep an eye on Nina and Fabes.

We walked out onto the moore of Anubis house. We walked into the woods and found a walkway. Nina and Fabes were walking rather close, and I got closer to them so I could hear what they were saying.

"...on the internet." I heard Fabian finish.

"Well, yeah. But, we'll have to go back there to make sure we're right. And we have to go there at dawn."

"I know. School starts in two days. What if it takes a while to decode what it says? Then we'll either have to ditch school or only go on weekends." Fabian told her.

"Well, we could ditch school one, maybe two times, but if we did it anymore, they would get suspicious." Nina said.

"Yeah, you're right. They would know something was up if it was one of the 'good kids' that ditched. As in, you, Mara, me, and Amber." Fabian said. At that point, we had reached the meeting spot and everyone filed out to a different log. Nina and Fabian sat across from each other. I took this as my chance to talk Fabes out of this whole 'Nina drama', as I called it. I walked over and sat on the same log as Fabes.

"Hey, Fabes." I said as I sat down.

"Hey." he said, avoiding eye contact. I followed his gaze and realized that he was looking at Nina who was talking to Jerome. I looked back at him. His face had jealousy written all over it. I knew it was going to take some work to pull him out of this trance he was in.

"Okay. Everyone, please stand." Amber started. Everyone stood. I tried to touch Fabian's hand, but he put them in his pockets before I could. "Okay, now all new Sibuna members, step forward. Jerome, Mick, Mara, and I took a few steps toward the fire.

Amber reached into the big bag she was carrying and pulled out a football **(soccer ball in America) **and passed it to Mick.

She then took out a science book and passed it to Mara.

Next, she took out a "Pranks Weekly" magazine and gave it to Jerome. Lastly, she took out my favorite Twilight poster.

"Now, everyone throw the sacrifices into the fire." Amber told us. We all looked at her, shocked.

"No! I can't. I haven't finished reading this one yet!" Jerome sqeaked.

"This is my autographed football. The _only_ autographed football I have! I can't!" Mick screamed.

"I'm can't! This is my most favorite poster I've ever gotten!" I yelled.

"No! No, no, no, no, no. I'm only halfway through the second chapter!" Mara screeched.

"If you want to be a Sibuna, you have to do it." Amber told us. I frowned and threw my poster into the fire. Then, I stepped back next to Fabes.

Mara looked around desperately, trying to find an excuse, but she evntually nodded and threw her book into the fire. Then, she stepped back next to Amber.

Jerome closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then threw his magazine into the fire. He took a step back to Nina.

Mick felt around frantically in his pockets. With nothing else to sacrafice, he reluctantly threw in his football. Then, he stepped back next to Fabian.

"Joy, step forward, please." Amber said. I took a step forward. "Repeat after me. I, Joy Mercer, being of sound and mind, promise to protect the treasure of Anubis house and all its secrets."

"I, Joy Mercer, being of sound and mind, promise to protect the treasure of Anubis house and all its secrets." I repeated. Everyone else did the same. We all walked back to the house, Amber in the lead.

~**Back at the house~**

We got back just before supper. That night, we had spaghetti. Of course, Jerome and Alfie started a food fight. Before I knew it, there was spaghetti in my hair and all over my top. I left the room to take a shower. After my shower, I went down to talk to Fabes. I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I heard Fabian say. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hi, Fabes." I said.

"Hey." he said. He was on his laptop.

"Fabian, there's something I want to talk about with you." I told him. He looked at me, closed his laptop and looked up at me.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk about us...and Nina." I told him nervously.

"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Well, I was just wondering...if you like Nina?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. Everyone does." he replied. He obviously didn't get what I was saying.

"No, I mean...as more than a friend." I said nervously.

"Oh, um..." he started, a blush forming on his cheeks. Then, at that exact moment, Nina came in.

"Oh, sorry, I should have knocked. Um, did I interupt something?" she asked.

"No, no, of course not." Fabian told her.

"I think I did, so I'll just...come back later." she said as she left the room.

"So, as you were saying...?" I urged.

"Oh, right. Um...yeah...I do." he told me.

"You don't sound like you're sure." I said. I was hoping he was just saying that.

"Well, it's...just kind of awkward...to talk about." he stuttered.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It's just...no one really asks about my personal feelings...except her." Fabian said refering to Nina.

"Well, I care about you." I said.

"You do?" he asked, suspicion in his voice.

"Of course." I said, flashing him a smile. He gave me a half smile in return.

"What did you mean before, when you said you wanted to talk about...us?" he asked. My smile disappeared.

"Oh, that. It's just that I...I thought you...liked me." I said.

"Well, of course I like you. You're one of my good mates." he told me. Good mates? I thought we were more than that, but I guess not.

"No, I mean, I thought you liked me as...more than a friend." I said.

**Oooh, a cliffy! This was a really long chapter and I figured I could rap it up there. You won't know what Fabian's response will be until I update again. I will update ASAP. **

**The reason it took me forever is that I had to go to my aunt's house (as mentioned above) yesterday, and today I had to go to my best friends house (I was planning to finish writting this last night, then publish it today before I left). Again, I'm sorry it took so long. School is starting this Wednesday, so it'll be a lot harder for me to update. Plus, I'm helping my sister move into her apartment on the 21****st**** (which is also my birthday, and Brad Kavanagh's). **

**Oh, yeah, one more thing: Review please!**


	13. A Dream and a Fact

**Hey, guys!**

**First, sooo sorry I haven't updated! I hate to make excuses, but I'm sick, I've had Writer's Block here and there, plus a bit of schoolwork, plus the Halloween party at my school (I'm doing the Haunted House), and I got grounded for a week because I didn't finish my homework and got a notice (which meant no computer, TV, etc.). Again, I'm soo sorry!**

**Second, This chapter is dedicated to ****ilovehoa123, angela1997, pieface98, carcar15 (), Fabina3333, ParkBomFan, Star46783, Unhr25, Taser Time (), and Sully Clarke for reviewing 'I Won't Let Go' and guessing correctly.**

**Third, I wanted to start something new; the first five people to review (you must have an account) will get a sneak peak at the next chapter.**

**Fourth, I put up the girls' outfits on my profile. **

**See you at the end!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! :`( **

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fabian's POV<strong>_

_"No, I mean, I thought you liked me as...more than a friend." Joy said._

What did she mean by that? She thought I liked her like...I wanted to go out with her? "I don't understand. You thought that I liked you like...ask you out on a date like you?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment, playing with her fingers. "Y...yeah," she finally said. I could tell she was nervous.

I thought for a minute. I did like her like that, but that's just it;_ did _as in 'the past'. Now, I just thought of her... like a sister. "Oh, well...that's complecated. I...used to, but...I don't anymore," I said cautiously. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I can't just avoid the answer. Yes, I liked Joy and was going to ask her out before she disappeared-that night, in fact-but now...she was basically my sister. Now...I like Nina. I've been trying to ask her out, but we get interupted or she ignores me.

Wow. I can't believe it took me this long to realize it. Nina was ignoring me because she didn't want to go out with me. When I asked her out at the table during breakfast, she ignored me then hoped for an interuption so she wouldn't have to answer me-to tell me no.

"Oh, so...you like this...Nina girl now, don't you?" Joy said, bringing me back from my thoughts. She was clearly disappointed.

"Yeah, I do," I told her. She needed to know the truth...and I needed Nina to answer me straight up. Not for her to avoid the ax until I finally gave up on asking her. "But I'm not sure she likes me,"

"You're kidding me, right?" she asked. I looked at with a confused expression on my face. She sighed. "Of course she likes you! How do you not see it! That's why I asked you if you liked me or her! Because I knew she liked you! It's always written on her face!" she said that like it was obvious.

"I don't know," I said sheepishly. "I asked her out once, but she acted like she was daydreaming,"

"Did you ever think that she really _was_ daydreaming?" she asked.

"No," I said, ashamed.

"Well, she most likely was. Here, why don't you go upstairs and ask her, and I'll distract Amber," she offered.

"I don't know," I responded, unsure about whether this was a good idea.

"Come on, Fabes! Just ask her! She'll say yes! I promise!" she told me.

"Alright," I said. "Let's do it," I said. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

She dragged me up the stairs and pulled me to Nina's door.

"Okay, now you go hide in the girls' bathroom. I'll get Amber out of the room, and then you come ask Nina,"

"Okay," I said as I walked to the bathroom. I opened the door and stepped inside.

_**Joy's POV**_

I knocked on Nina and Amber's door. Amber opened the door.

"Amber! Just the person I wanted to see! I got some new clothes over the holiday, and you just have to see them!" I exclaimed. She squealed and I pulled her into my room.

"Okay, where are the clothes!" Amber said excitedly.

"Amber, they're aren't any clothes." I told her. She looked at me and frowned. Patricia and Mara looked at me, confused. "I wanted to get you in here so I could tell you and Mara and Patricia that Fabian was going to ask Nina out. And I kinda wanted to know if listening in on that is a bad idea?" I said.

They all looked at each other and smiled deviously.

"Nope," Amber said. "I like that idea."

"Me too," Patricia said.

"Me three," Mara agreed. We all tip-toed over to Nina and Amber's door. You could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. I pressed my ear up against the door to listen.

"Yeah, Friday," I heard Fabian say.

"Okay," Nina said. After that, there was only silence.

Amber slowly opened the door and peeked her head in. Her eyes widened and she smiled. With her free hand, she motioned for us to peek with her. We opened the door wider so we could all see. I slowly moved my head in, careful not to make any noise. When I did, I saw Fabes and Nina kissing.

It was sweet, I'll say that much, but I still wished it was me. If only I hadn't disappeared, then maybe that would be me, sitting where Nina was, the love of my life in my arms. Fabian had said that he wanted to talk to me after school that day. Fate sure has a funny way of making everyone else happy and making me sad.

I was glad that Patricia and Jerome were together. Last year, about a month before I disappeared, Patricia had been acting really weird. So I confronted her about it. She told me that she liked Jerome, and that I couldn't tell anyone. So I didn't. I'm glad she has Jerome. At least some of us are happy. Mara and Mick, Patricia and Jerome, Amber and Alfie, and Fabian and Nina.

I was the only one of us that had nobody to call mine.

As I got my senses back, I realized that Fabes and Nina were pulling apart. I quickly whipped my head out of the room and walked with Patricia downstairs. Amber went to see Alfie and Mara went back to our room to finish packing up some things.

"So, you helped Fabian ask Nina out?" Patricia asked me as we walked into the common room. It was empty.

"Yeah," I said. "I did,"

"I thought you liked Fabian?" she said.

"I did, I still do, but he doesn't like me like I like him. He just thinks of us as good friends. There's not much I can do about that. I do feel a little upset about it though. I mean, Fabes did say he wanted to talk to me after school the day I disappeared. And Amber said that he had a crush on me, so he may have been going to ask me out. But now, I'll never know," I said.

"Well, I don't want to make you upset or anything, but when Fabian and Nina saw each other for the first time, it was like Fabian was in a trance or something. Remember when Nina ran into me her first day, Fabian stayed back a moment and stared at her?" Patricia said as we plopped onto the couch.

"Yeah, I remember. It was a bit awkward, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. At least we found you, I was worried sick,"

"I was worried about you, too," I told her.

"You were? Why?"

"Because, you're my _best friend_. I was worried that I would never see you again, that we would never do anything together again. I was worried that you would become closer to one of the other girls and forget about me. I was worried about how you were holding up,"

She took my hand. "You'll always be my best friend, Joy. I could _never_ forget you," she said. I smiled and hugged her.

**_~Amber's POV~_**

I was picking out my outfit for tomorrow. Then I remembered that I would only wear it for a few hours, after school.

"Oh no!" I sighed, flopping onto my bed.

"What's wrong?" Nina asked.

"I just realized that I won't be able to wear a cute outfit all day tomorrow! I can only wear it when we bet back! And by that time it will be a total waste to wear anything super cute. I'll have to find a regular cute outfit, not one that is super cute, which will be really hard because all my clothes are super cute..." I trailed off.

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," I began. "What are you doing this Friday?" I asked, hoping she would tell me, even though I already knew.

"Why?" she asked, cautious. She stared at her shoes.

"Because," I said, standing up and walking over to her bed. "I was wanting to shopping with you."

"I can't, Amber. Maybe next weekend?" she offered. She went back to the magazine she was reading. Oh, silly, silly Nina. You can't get rid of me that easy.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Just...have plans is all," she stated, avoiding my gaze.

"Nina, come on, you can tell me anything,"

"It nothing interesting, Amber, really," she said. Was she saying that her date with Fabian wasn't important?

"Are you saying that your date with Fabian isn't important?" I asked. I was tired of her going around in circles, avoiding my direct question.

She stared at me with wide eyes. "Wha-how did you know about that?" she asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Joy, Patricia, Mara, and I were eavesdropping on you guys," I admitted.

"Amber!" A look of annoyance covered her face.

"Sorry! It was Joy's idea! In fact, she's the one who convinced Fabian to come up here, too!" I told her.

Someone knocked on our door. "Come in!" Nina shouted.

Alfie came in. "Time for supper! Better get down there before Mick eats it all up!" he joked. Nina smiled and rolled her eyes at his comedic comment. I smiled and shook my head.

I stood up and hooked my arm through Nina's. The three of us strolled downstairs and into the dining room.

Nina took her place at the head of the table, and I sat on her left.

**_~Next day: an hour before dawn~_**

**_Nina's POV_**

"Amber. Amber!" I whispered. "Amber!" I shook her. She let out a tired groan.

"What, Nina?" she asked tiredly.

"Fabian and I are going to check out the clue and we need a lookout," I said.

"Fine," she moaned, pulling off her eye mask and standing up. "Just let me change."

_**~Five minutes later~**_

"What took you guys so long?" Fabian asked when we met him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Amber took forever to get ready," I told him.

"Well, I'm sorry it takes me so long to get beautiful," she said, clearly annoyed. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not a morning person either, Amber," I told her.

We finally made it to the old warehouse, and I opened it.

"Okay. Amber, you stay out here and keep watch. Fabian and I will check out the hieroglyphics."

"Okay," she said groggily. You would think after seven miles on foot, she would be awake. Guess not.

Fabian and I stepped into the long hallway, the door open. We saw the sun start to rise. A second later, the sun shone through the open door, and revealed a hidden message. It said "Someone is watching. He's always watching. His black eyes always watching you're every move, even when you're outside. He's the eye in the sky. He _must_ be destroyed."

"Um, okay..." Fabian trailed off. I took a picture of the message on my phone. A second later, the message was gone.

"Guys, we should get out of here! I hear something!" Amber yelled in a whisper. Fabian and I quickly got outside and the three of us went to the other side of the warehouse. We heard the door unlock and someone step inside. Carefully, I peeked around the corner. I didn't see anything. I motioned to the others and we sped away as fast as we could.

When we got back to Anubis, we were all panting. We had to calm ourselves and get our breathing under control before we snuck back inside. Amber and I slowly crept up the stairs. Victor was still asleep in his office, so we quietly opened the door to the girls' corridor. We walked quickly back to our room and hopped into bed to try to get a few more minutes of sleep, with it being the first day of school and all.

I fell asleep almost instantly. Then, I saw clouds. I realized I was walking on them. I wasn't falling through them, which was odd, because clouds are just water vapor. Then, the whole background changed. I was standing on one side of a waterfall, on a ledge jutting out from a cliff. I stood up and looked through the water. I could faintly see an image. It was a man. Slowly, the image became clearer. I didn't know who this man was, but I felt like I vaguely rembered him from somewhere. So, I took a chance.

"Dad?" I asked. The man smiled at me, and nodded. I smiled back at him.

Then, the image was replaced with a woman. "Mom?" I asked again. She nodded and smiled. I smiled back at them.

Then I saw my gran. "Gran," I said. She smiled.

The image changed to show all of them, together. Then Sarah appeared. "Sarah," I said, smiling again. The image then showed all four of them. Sarah's arm was around my mother, and a wave of understading washed over me: Sarah was my grandmother.

**And that raps up another chapter! Again, sorry for the wait, but I updated and I promise the next chapter will come sooner.**

**Oh, yeah, one last thing; review please!**

***~apples~***


	14. Corbierre

**I'm back with the next chapter! Softball is over, so I should have more time to write stories, and I'm currently waiting for the last book of the Maximum Ride series to come out, so I'm not reading a book, which makes more time for writing. This means, if you didn't understand, that I should be able to update more frequently.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing at all. =(**

_**Nina's POV**_

_Sarah was my granmother._

Suddenly, they extended their arms, welcoming me in for a hug. I took a step forward, my arms outstretched. I couldn't reach them without falling off the ledge. But something in me urged me forward. I jumped, without warning, into their arms. What I discovered then was that they were just images, they weren't really there.

"Aahhh!" I screamed as I plunged toward the shallow pool at the bottom. I was going to die. I knew it, I just knew it.

"Beep, beep, beep..." I shot up in bed. Then I realized that it was a dream. Just a dream. I let out a sigh of relief and turned off my alarm. I turned to Amber to see she was brushing her hair, not yet dressed.

"Good, you're up," she said, startling me. "I was about to wake you. I haven't gotten a wink of sleep since we got back."

"Well, I did. I had this really weird dream. I saw Sarah, in the dream, and I figured out she was my grandmother, but I'm not sure anymore," I told Amber.

"Sarah is your grandmother?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure. I mean, it _was_ just a dream, after all."

"Well, a lot of your _just dreams_ have been right, at least with Sarah in them." I swear, she was getting smarter and smarter. What did she do over the summer?

"I'm going to get dressed," I said as I walked to the bathroom with my uniform and changed.

_**~Breakfast~**_

I came downstairs to breakfast to hear that Fabian, Patricia, and Joy were explaining Sibuna to Mara and Mick. I wish they hadn't gotten involved. Now we have more people to worry about. Great.

"Morning," I said as I entered the dining room.

"Morning, Nina," Mara said. "So, he's mad because youu guys tricked him, and he's taking that anger out by trying to kill you?"

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up," Fabian said.

"I can't believe I never confronted you guys. I mean, I knew something was up, but I didn't think it would be life threatening," Mick said.

"Morning, guys," Amber said, coming in and taking her usual spot next to me.

"Anyone want a second helping?" Trudy asked, entering.

"Me!" Mick and Alfie said together. Everyone laughed.

After breakfast, I walked over with Fabian. It was Wednesday, two more days until our date.

"So, are you glad that Mick and Mara are part of Sibuna?" he asked me.

"Not really. I mean, it's cool that everyone is in Sibuna, but now we have more people to worry about," I told him.

He grabbed my hand. "Well, they probably would be in more danger than they are now. Now, they know what Rufus is up to, and if they kidnapped them, they would be able to say the truth or lie, instead of just telling the truth, that they know nothing," he said.

"I know, but still." I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

"It will be okay, Nina. Don't worry about it." he said, pulling me back so that I was facing him. I stared into his blue eyes. I looked down to his mouth, then back to his eyes. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. His lips were soft and warm. I snaked my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He put his arms around my waist. Suddenly, a flash went off.

"Amber!" I said, annoyed.

"Sorry! I had to capture this moment for your scrapbook," she said. She ran off after that. Fabian and I continued walking.

"Fabian, I have something I need to tell you," I said.

"What is it?"

I explained my dream to him. He nodded a couple of times.

"So, Sarah is your grandmother?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so, but it was just a dream," I said. We were at school now, which eliminated further discussion. For now, at least.

First bell rang, and we made our way to first class.

_**Patricia's POV**_

"Trixie!" I heard Jerome call.

"What?" I called back. He caught up to me.

"I don't suppose you would want to have lunch with me somewhere off campus?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "Why not."

"Trixie," he said, stopping me.

"What?" I asked. He leaned in and kissed me. His lips weren't hard and rough, as they were the last time we kissed, which was last night. His hands were on my waist, and mine were on his elbows. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. We pulled away, breathing hard. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Come on, we better get to first class," I said, taking his hand and pulling him along.

When we got to first class, everyone else stared at us. So we were a bit late, whatever.

"Jerome, Patricia, you're late," Mr. Winkler said.

"Sorry, Sir," Jerome said. "We got side tracked." The class laughed.

"Okay, now please, take your seats." Mr. Winkler told us. I sat my Joy and Jerome sat by Alfie. So we didn't sit together, whatever. We're not Nina and Fabian. We're not _that_ obviously in love. I don't even think we're in love. Whatever. Just forget I said anything.

_**~After Class~**_

_**Nina's POV**_

"What if this...thing we're supposed to look out for is Corbierre?" I said.

"Well, that would be creepy. Then Corbierre would have to be alive," Fabian told me.

"Victor's cat was alive, even though Amber and Patricia saw it stuffed," I said matter-of-factly.

"Poor kitty. I wonder where he is now. I hope he's alright," Amber said, fighting tears. I rubbed her back. She gave me a half smile.

"Then, why were we able to pull the puzzle piece out of his neck," Fabian said, grimicing.

I grimiced at the memory. "What if he has some kind of...potion or something to make them look stuffed?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's just weird to think about that," Fabian told me.

Before I could respond, the bell signalling next class rang. The three of us quickly made our way to history.

_**~During Class~**_

"Today, we'll be learning some more advanced things about Egyptian mythology. Then, we will play a quick game with Egyptian gods," Mr. Winkler said. _This will be a breeze,_ I thought.

"Ra was the god of the Sun. He appears as a falcon with a sun disk above his head, or a man with a falcon's head," Mr. Winkler droned on and on. I already knew this stuff, so I was barely listening. I saw Fabian, who was sitting next to me, with a bored expression on his face, staring at the ceiling.

"He sailed across the heavens in a boat called the 'Barque of Millions of Years'. At the end of each day Ra was thought to die and sailed on his night voyage through the Underworld, leaving the Moon to light the world above. The boat would sail through the twelve doors, representing the twelve hours of night-time. The next dawn, he was born again," Mr. Winkler continued. Suddenly, he glanced up and saw Fabian staring off into space.

"Fabian," Mr. Winkler began. "Please, tell me what happened at the end of each day, when the sun set."

"Ra supposedly died every night. He rode on a boat through the Underworld, letting the moon light the world. He would sail through 12 doors, representing the twelve hours of night-time. The next dawn, he was born again," Fabian said, practically quoting from the book. Suddenly, the bell rang.

Everyone gathered their things.

"Wait," Mr. Winkler said. "I want you to fill out this worksheet, since we didn't get to do our little game."

I walked toward his desk, picking up a paper on his desk. I glanced at the worksheet. Then I realized I hadn't taken only a worksheet, but I took Mr. Winkler's "to do list"_. _I turned to head back to the classroom, to return it, but something caught my eye...

**Did you like this chapter? I finally have time to write, and it feels _sooo _good. I might start posting to Ficton press soon, maybe. **

**Please review and tell me your thoughts.**

***~apples~***


	15. Secret Meetings

_**Nina's POV**_

_I glanced at the worksheet. Then I realized I hadn't taken only a worksheet, but I took Mr. Winkler's "to do list". I turned to head back to the classroom, to return it, but something caught my eye..._

I saw "attend secret meeting at 1:00 A.M." sprawled across the paper in very sloppy handwriting. I froze.

"Hey," a voice said from behind me. I whirled around. Just Fabian.

"Oh, hey," I said. "Look what I found." I shoved the paper into his hands and pointed to the task.

"A secret meeting?" Fabian asked suspiciously.

"Yep. And, it under tonight's date," I said.

He looked up at me. "So, Sibuna tonight?" he asked.

"Sibuna," I said, cover my right eye.

"Sibuna," he responds, mimicing my motion. We quickly find everyone and tell them.

_**~That night~**_

We met up at around 12:30. All the boys were there when Amber and I arrived. Patricia, Mara, and Joy followed shortly after.

"Okay, here's the plan," Fabian said. "Five of us stay up here and alert us through the walkie talkie when the society comes down. The rest of us will go down to the cellar and watch the society, see what they're up to. Who wants to stay up here?" he asked.

Immediately, Alfie, Amber, and Jerome raised their hands.

Jerome defended himself with, "That cellar creeps meet out."

"Who else wants to stay?" I asked. Everyone was silent.

"Come on, guys," Fabian said, irritated. "Two more people."

"Why doesn't one of you two stay up here?" Joy asked.

"Because, they're like, the best at this. The smartest," Amber said. I smiled slightly at this.

"Still, I don't see why Nina can't stay up here and Fabian go down. Or vice versa." Joy said again.

"No. Fabian and Nina are both going," Alfie said.

"I'll stay up here. We can snoop Victor's office during the meeting. Make sure you guys tell us when the meeting is over," Patricia said.

"I'll stay," Joy said. _Thank you, Patricia!_ I thought.

I opened the passageway and crawled through, but not before I heard a couple gasps. I smiled slightly.

When we reached the room where we hid last time, we all sat down. Amber brought her big bag, so Mara brought it. Fabian asked for a blanket and we snuggled up together. Under the blanket, Fabian reached for my hand and held it. I layed my head on his shoulder.

Mara and Mick shared a blanket too.

"Nina, pick up, over," I heard. I picked up the walkie talkie.

"I'm here, over," I said.

"Jason's coming, over," Patricia said.

"Roger, over," I said. I set the walkie talkie down and we all did the little head stack thing so we could all see. Jason came down the steps and pulled on his robe. One by one, all of the members came down and pulled on their robes.

"Welcome, society members!" boomed Victor. "We are starting a new mission. To garuntee we will live forever!"

I raised my eyebrows. Still trying to live forever, are we?

**Next chapter will be about Patricia, Joy, Jerome, Alfie, and Amber's discovery *hint, hint***

**Please review!**

***~appls~***


	16. New Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

_**Patricia's POV**_

"Okay, look for anything abnormal," I commanded. I started searching through his desk drawers.

"Guys, look!" Jerome said. I came over to him, as did everyone else. He was holding some strange looking objects. Puzzle pieces, maybe?

"What are they?" Amber asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

"I say we take them," Alfie said.

"Yeah, but he'll know it was us. If we take them, we'll have to hide them somewhere other than the house," I told him

"What about our lockers?" Joy suggested.

"Okay, we'll take them," I said.

We all went back to what we were doing before. As I was pawing through Victor's drawers, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. It looked like it was on his desk.

I started looking on top of his desk. After I pulled some papers away, I saw it. It was a long necklace, like Nina's, but it wasn't the Eye of Horus. It was a crystal ball. It looked like something was inside.

I picked it up. The crystal ball made it look like there was a small disco ball over Victor's desk.

Suddenly, a voice came out of the walkie talkie. "Guys! The meeting's over, over,"

I grabbed the walkie talkie and said, "We're getting out of here, over." I took the necklace and ran to the girls' corridor door. The five of us gathered in mine and Joy's room.

"Okay, let's hide the stuff in here for now, and I'll take it to school tomorrow," I said. Jerome handed me his findings, and I waited until they left to take out the necklace. I just wanted to examine it more closely by myself, without everyone crowding around me. I hate being crowded. I don't do well in small spaces.

It was quite beautiful, actually. The necklace, I mean. Like a million tiny diamonds. I put it on, just to see what it would look like. I instantly felt a wave of security come over me. I felt like nothing could hurt me.

I fell asleep with the necklace on.

"Patricia, wake up!" I heard. I jolted up in bed, my hand still clutching the necklace. "Time to get up, Patricia. Hurry up or we'll be late!" Joy said.

I climbed out of bed and walked to my wardrobe. I pulled out my school uniform and ran to the bathroom to get ready. When I walked back into my room, I looked at my alarm clock and saw it was only 8:00. I still had an hour before I had to leave.

"Joy!" I complained. "You could have waited ten minutes!"

"Well, I wasn't sure how long it would take you. Where'd you get that necklace?" she asked. My hand flew the the chain around my neck.

"Oh, that. I got it a couple days ago. Totally forgot about it," I lied. Thankfully, I was a good liar.

"Oh. Well, you might want to hide it under your shirt. Amber would pound you for it," she said.

"Yeah, okay." I tucked the necklace in my shirt. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast." We left the room and walked into the table. Everyone except Nina and Fabian were there. They were probably going to school early.

"Where are Fabes and Nina?" Joy asked as she took a seat.

"Fabian and her went to school early to do 'research'," Jerome said, putting air quotes around _research_.

"Jerome," I said, annoyed.

"What? You know it's true," he said. I rolled my eyes. I know he's my boyfriend and all, but he's still annoying.

"Do you have those...things," Alfie asked, hinting the objects.

"Yeah, here." I handed one to Mara, one to Jerome, one to Joy, one to Alfie, and I left one for me.

"What are these things, anyway?" Mara asked.

"Puzzle pieces, I guess," I said. "Come on, we should get going. We need to hide these before Victor notices." I stuffed mine in my bag and stood up. I left Anubis by myself, a little bit ahead of the others. I decided this was time to study my necklace.

I pulled it out and held it in my palm. It sparkled in the sunlight. I rolled it in my palm. On one side of it, there was engravings in...Egyptian hieroglyphics. _Of course_, I thought.

"That's a beautiful necklace." I jumped. Jerome. How long had he been beside me?

"Thanks. When did you come up here?" I asked.

"A few seconds ago," he answered. "You okay?" he asked as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You seem a little tense."

"Okay...?" I said. I tucked the necklace in my shirt again. We walked the rest of the way in silence.

**That raps up another chapter. Hope you liked it. **

**Please review.**

***~apples~***


	17. Romance & Secrets

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I'd be working on season 3 right now.**

_**Patricia's POV**_

I walked into class and took a seat beside Joy. Jerome sat with Alfie.

"Good morning, guys!" Mr. Winkler said, a little bit too happy. Well, he thinks he'll have eternal life, but why would he want that, anyway? A question I'll probably never find the answer to.

"Today, we'll start with..."

_**~After Class~**_

"Hey, Trixie!" Jerome called when we were in the hallway. I stopped and waited for him.

"What?" I asked.

"Come here, I want to show you something," he said, taking my hand.

"Okay?" I said, letting him pull me.

He took me off campus, to the woods. We walked for what seemed like hours, but I knew was just a few minutes.

Finally, he stopped next to a bunch of vines. It looked completely natural.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?" I asked. He just smiled at me.

He pulled back the vines and stepped through. We walked down (what seemed like) a cave.

Eventually, we reached the other end. When I stepped out, I was surprised my eyes didn't fall out of my head.

We were in a little valley, with a lake and trees spread out across it. The was a bridge over the small stream that lead to the lake. Flowers where blooming. It was absolutely beautiful.

"What'd you think?" Jerome asked.

"How'd you find this?" I asked. I was completely amazed.

"I was just exploring the woods one day, and I found it. It's beautiul, isn't it?"

"Absolutely."

"I knew you'd like it."

I was smiling like an idiot. Before I knew what was happening, Jerome pulled me close to him and kissed me.

_**~Meanwhile~**_

_**Nina's POV**_

"Have you seen Patricia or Jerome anywhere?" I asked Alfie.

"Nope," he said. "So, about these puzzle pieces..." he trailed off.

"What puzzle pieces?" I asked, now confused.

"The ones we found in Victor's office last night," he said, showing me the strange shaped object. I took it from his hand.

"I didn't know you found these," I said, turning the piece over in my palm.

"Ambs didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Oh, well she was supposed to. Must have forgotten."

"Yeah, must have." I walked over to Fabian's locker. He wasn't there. I checked the courtyard. He wasn't there either.

_Oh, where, oh where has my Fabian gone. Oh where, oh where could he be?_ I thought. I decided to check Anubis house.

When I got there, I looked in his room. There he was.

"Hey," I said. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," he said. I could see something sticking out from under his pillow.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to his pillow.

"Nothing," he answered again.

"Fabian, I can see it sticking out from under your pillow. I'm not blind," I said. I walked over to him and pulled out a notebook. He grabbed it from my hands.

"It's nothing," he said, putting the notebook in his lap.

"Let me see it," I said holding out my hand.

"It's nothing," he said again. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him. "What?" he asked.

"At least tell me what it's for," I complained.

"It for writing," he said.

"Duh! What's written in it?" I asked.

"Just...stuff," he said.

"Please, just tell me what's in it," I said, sitting down next to him and linking my arm through his.

"It's a surprise," he said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For you. I don't want you to know what it is yet. When I do, I'll give it to you," he said.

"So, whatever it is, it's for me?" I wanted clarification.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?"

"I don't know, I just didn't. I didn't want you to know that I was planning a surprise for you."

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Come on, we'll be late for class," I said, standing up. He put the notebook on his bed and stood up. He took my hand and we walked back to school together.

_**Amber's POV**_

"Pink, red, purple, or blue?" I asked Nina. I was trying to decide which nail polish to paint my finger nails.

"Pink," she said. "Red's too much, purple doesn't go with your skin color, and blue isn't very pretty. At least, that one isn't," she said. Yay! I was finally getting some fashion sense in her!

"Yeah, you're right." I picked up the pink polish and started painting.

"Hey, Amber? Why didn't you tell me about the puzzle pieces you guys found last night?" Nina asked.

"What?" I thought for a moment. "Oh, those. I completely forgot! I'm so sorry!" I apologized.

"It's okay. Everyone forgets sometimes," she said. She was reading a book. I'm guessing it was about Egypt, but I'm not for sure.

Then someone knocked.

"Come in!" I yelled. Patricia entered.

"Hey, NIna, can you help me out with something?" Patricia asked.

"Sure," Nina answered.

"Can you figure out what this means?" Patricia asked. She pulled out a beautiful necklace and handed it to Nina.

"Woah! That's so beautiful! Where'd you get it?" I asked.

"I found it last night. It has Egyptian hieroglyphics on it," she answered.

"It says..."

**And this is where I leave you for now.**

**I'm not going to update if I don't get at least 5 reviews this chapter. So the less reviews, the longer you have to wait.**

***~apples~***


	18. The Necklace

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Got it?**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 18**

_**Nina's POV**_

"It says 'Horus lies up above, Ra lies below, the light that shines at first light'," I said.

"What?" Patricia asked.

"I don't know. I think we need to call a Sibuna meeting," I said.

"Okay, I'll get Joy and Mara," Amber said.

When Amber had left, Patricia asked, "Can I have it back?"

"Why?"

"Because I...I like it. I think it's beautiful," she said.

"It is beautiful, but I think there's something dangerous about it," I said. "I'm getting a bad feeling about it."

"Well, can I have it after we discuss it? You know, to keep it safe?" she asked.

"I guess," I said. "I'm going to get the boys."

I knocked on Jerome and Alfie's door. No answer. I peeked inside. They weren't there. They were probably in the kitchen.

I knocked on Mick and Fabian's door. Fabian opened it.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. We're having a Sibuna meeting," I said.

"Oh, okay." He stepped out of his room and shut his door.

"Aren't you going to get Mick?" I asked.

"He's in the kitchen," he said.

"Of course he is," I said. He laughed.

"I'll get him. You go upstairs," he said.

"Okay." He started to walk past me, but I stopped him.

"What?" he asked. I kissed him. When we broke apart, he smiled. "What was that for?" he asked.

"I haven't done that all day," I said. I walked up to my room. All the girls were there.

Soon, the boys came up.

"So, what is it?" Jerome asked. I noticed he was standing awfully close to Patricia.

"We found a clue. I don't know if we were supposed to yet, seeing as we haven't figured out the other clue yet," I said.

"Well, that other clue wasn't really a clue. It was more of a-warning. Besides, we decided that was Corbierre, right?" Fabian asked. I nodded. "Well, the necklace was in Victor's office, so maybe it was leading to this clue."

"Well, I hope your right. I really don't want to touch Corbierre _ever_ again," I said. This triggered a few giggles. Mick and Mara were confused. "Last year, I kind of had a bad experience with Corbierre," I said, trying to make them understand. But they were still confused.

"She had to twist his head off," Patricia said. "Just thinking about that makes me shiver," she said.

"At least you weren't there," Fabian said.

"At least _you_ didn't have to twist his neck," I said. "Which, now that I think about it, you really should have done because it _was_ your idea, after all," I said.

"Can we get back to the clue, please?" Jerome asked. I forgot all about that.

"What was it again?" Mara asked.

"Horus lies up above, Ra lies below, the light that shines at first light," I said.

"Well, the light that shines at first light probably means the sun," Fabian said. "Where's a sun at?"

"In the sky, duh," Amber said. She was filing her nails. Oh, Amber.

"Amber, maybe if you listened, you would understand," Patricia said. Was Jerome's arm around her? Possibly.

"Well, that's where a sun is!" Amber defended herself.

"Yes, but we can't touch that sun. We can barely look at it without going blind!" Jerome said.

"Anyway, does anyone know where a sun is?" I asked.

"The attic!" Amber said. Thank you, Amber!

"Yes, of course," I said. I stood up and walked to the attic door.

"Wait! How do you plan to get in without a key?" Mara asked.

I stuck my bobby pin in the hole and picked the lock.

"Oh, okay then," Mara said. We walked up the stairs and to the window. I looked up. Sure enough, there was the Eye of Horus. I looked at my feet. There was a picture of a hawk with a sun disk over it's head carved into the floor. I can't believe I never noticed that.

I brought my locket up to the Eye of Horus pressed it against the shape. It glowed red, then faded. A compartment opened up. It looked big enough for someone to fit in. I tried to reach up, but it was out of my reach.

"Here, I'll do it," Jerome said. He walked over and stuck his hand in. A few seconds later, he said,"There's something up there. I can't quite reach it though." He brought his hand down. "Someone will have to go up there."

"I'll do it," I said, after a minute of people exchanging glances that said "I'm not going up there."

Jerome lifted me up, and I couldn't help but smile at the slight scowl on Fabian's face. So cute.

When I was high enough, I pulled myself through and sat with my legs hanging down. I looked in front of me and there was a carving of the same hawk with the sun disk over it's head. Behind it, was a cane type thing. I reached over, trying to grab it, but I almost fell.

I pulled my legs up and used them for support as I climbed to the other side. Now I could reach it. I grabbed it. When I did, it pulled on a string and below me I heard someone scream, "Ahh!"

I looked down, and saw...

**That's all for now. Sorry for the wait, I've had so much homework, not to mention I started rereading the Harry Potter books. **

**Please review?**

***~apples~***


	19. The Secret Room

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 19**

_**Nina's POV**_

_I looked down, and saw_

Jerome fall down a hole in the floor.

I just stared. I could see a few heads looking down the hole. Alfie looked up at me.

"What'd you do?" he asked.

"I...I don't...I don't know," I said.

"It looks like he fell down some tube thing," Patricia said.

"Well, the sooner we can get to Jerome, the sooner we can close that, and the sooner I can get down," I said.

"Well, obviously you can't come down now," Fabian said.

"Guys?" someone called. It sounded like it came from the tube.

"Jerome?" Patricia asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you guys have got to come see this," he said.

"One problem," I started. "I can't get-Aaah!" I slipped and fell straight through the tube, feet first.

"Uuh," I said as I hit the ground. That was like a slide. I looked up and saw Jerome. "Hi," I said.

"Hi," he said. He held out his hand and pulled me up.

"Nina, are you okay?" Fabian asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just-Woah," I said when I noticed my surroundings.

"What?" Amber asked.

"You guys have to come see this," I said. We, Jerome and I, were in a room covered with gold things. In the back was a tunnel (I think)

"Okay, look out," Fabian said. I moved out of the way.

When Fabian reached the bottom, I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm-wow," he said, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it?" Jerome asked.

"Okay, no one else come down. We might need a rope to help us up. But first, I want to explore this tunnel," I yelled up the tube. "Does anyone have a flashlight?" Jerome and Fabian looked at me, confused. "Does anyone have a torch?" I asked.

"Yeah, here it comes!" Amber said. A flashlight slid to my feet.

"Okay, you guys, find some rope just in case. Fabian, Jerome, and I will explore and tell you what we find," I said. "Okay, guys. Let's go."

I turned on the flashlight and started walking toward the tunnel. Jerome and Fabian stayed close behind. Fabian was holding my hand, either because he was afraid he would get lost or because he thinks I'm scared. Either way, it's sweet.

After a while, the tunnel started to have passage ways. We stopped at the third one.

"I think we should take one of these," I said. "We can't keep going straight. That's what they want us to do."

"Who?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know, but someone, or something," I said. I shone the flashlight to the left. Then to the right. At the right, I saw a picture of the Eye of Horus. My locket started to glow. I held it up the the Eye and a door at the end of the hallway opened. We walked to it.

When I stepped through the door, I realized I was in a passage way. Another one.

We followed it to the end. There were to ways to go. One to the left, one to the right. We decided on the one to the left. We ended up at a dead end.

When we finally reached the end of the right side, we found ourselves in the cellar. A secret room, cool.

We went back to the attic.

"Hey, guys!" said. They all jumped.

"Where did you guys come from?" Patricia asked.

"Well, we followed these different passages and ended up in the cellar," I told them.

"Guess we didn't need this rope then," Mick said, holding up a rope.

"Nope, sure don't," I said.

"It is ten o'clock! You have five minutes and then I want to hear a pin...drop," Victor bellowed.

"Better get back," I said. We all went to our rooms. Before Fabian went downstairs, he gave me a peck on the cheek.

"Night," he said.

"Night," I replied. He dropped my hand and headed downstairs. I smiled to myself and walked into my room.

"Aw! You guys are so cute together!" Amber squealed. I shook my head.

I went to the bathroom, changed into my pajamas and went back to my room.

Then I remembered that I gave the necklace to Patricia. I snuck to Patricia and Joy's room (kind of Mara's) and knocked. Patricia answered.

"Hey, do you have the necklace?" I asked.

Her hand flew to her neck and she pulled out the necklace. "Yeah, why?"

"Because I need it," I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"I want to look at it. I don't know why, but I'm getting a bad vibe from it," I said.

"No!" she yelled, then slammed the door in my face. I heard Victor's footsteps, so I ran into my room and shut the door as quietly as possible.

I pressed my ear against the door.

"Idiotic rats!" he whisper-yelled. I pulled the door open just enough so I could see. He was at the attic door, fumbling with his keys. When he finally got the right one, he opened the door and went upstairs.

I followed him.

**Okay, I know I've been doing Nina's POV for a while now, but I just find it easier to write that way. I will change POVs next chapter, though.**

**Please review?**

***~apples~***


	20. Sacrafice

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 20**

_**Nina's POV**_

I crept up the attic stairs slowly. I had figured out long ago which ones creaked and which ones didn't. I peered around the corner of the doorway to watch Victor. He was at the panel, which had been fixed.

He walked around the room, surveying everything. He stopped at the stain glass window.

"The sun is beautiful, isn't it, Halley?" Victor said.

"Yes," I heard someone say. There was no one else in the room. "Victor, you will find a sacrafice for me, won't you?" the voice said.

"Yes, of course, my darling," Victor said.

"You should probably get back. Those rotten little rats aren't up here. But they were earlier," the voice (Halley, I assumed) said again.

"What were they doing?" Victor snapped.

"They found the secret passage to the secret room of the cellar. They explored it. That Nina girl unlocked it," Halley said hostily. I gulped. At least she didn't know I was here.

Suddenly, a white image appeared infront of Victor.

"Those blasted things! If only Nina would listen to me! The society would be even moore powerful." I was about to gasp, but stopped myself.

"Why don't you tell Nina that you'll use Fabian as a sacrafice if she doesn't help you," Halley said. My eyes widened in horror. _Please no! Please not Fabian! Please let it be me! Sacrafice me so no one else has to get hurt! _I thought.

"That's a good idea! Then, unless she wanted Fabian dead, she would have to listen to me!" Victor had and evil smile on his face. I tried not to cry, but the tears were coming. I had to get out of there. I felt a hot tear trickle down my cheek. I went downstairs as fast as possible.

I shut the attic door as quietly as possible, though it was hard with my vision blurred. I ran for my room and shut the door. Finally I let the tears come. I sat on my bed and cried as silently as possible, hoping Amber wouldn't hear me. She did.

"Neens? Are you okay?" she asked, getting out of bed and sitting next to me. "What's wrong?"

I tried to tell her, but my voice was raspy. I don't know if she heard a word of it. She hugged me tight, and I cried for an hour straight.

When I was done, I told Amber the full story, crying again as I told her how they were going to blackmail me into helping them. Amber was tearing up, too.

"It'll be okay, Neens. We won't let them do that to Fabian," she said. She was trying to sound confident, but there was a hint of fear in her voice.

She climbed back into her bed a few minutes later, after I convinced her that I would be okay, but I knew I wouln't get much, if any, sleep.

I layed there thinking. There had to be a way to stop this. When I was convinced that I would never get to sleep, I got out of bed. I snuck to the end of the corridor and peeked through the door. Victor wasn't in his office. I went into the cellar through the passageway in the kitchen.

When I got there, I went over to the bookshelf I saw when we first came down here. I skimmed the titles of books until I found _Egyptian Legends_. I opened to the table of contents. _Chosen One-43._

I turned to page 43. There was a picture of Amneris. I skimmed the pages until I found _Locket Powers._ I read as carefully as possible.

Then I read: _Only the Chosen One can sacrafice fully. Anyone else who tries will only harm the person's body temporarily. Then the soul can come back and live on until it's true death._

Suddenly, there was a loud _THUMP!_ I turned my head to see Victor's shadow comiing down the stairs. I ran to the passage and got back to the kitchen. Now was my chance to get upstairs. I climbed the stairs as quietly as possible so I didn't get Victor up here. When I got back to my room, I hid the book under my pillow and finally got some sleep.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I turned the alarm off and hopped out of bed. I changed quickly into my school uniform.

_**Fabian's POV**_

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

I hit the snooze button. _Five more minutes,_ I thought.

Then there was a knocking at the door. Mick was out for a run, so I had to get it. I stood up and stumbled through the dark to the door. I turned on the light and opened the door. Nina was standing there, already dressed.

"Hey, what're you doing here so early?" I asked.

"Well, I need to tell you something about-is Mick here?" she asked.

"No," I said. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Well, I went to get the necklace from Patricia, then I saw Victor go into the attic. So I followed him. He started talking to this ghost thing named Halley. It was really creepy."

_**Nina's POV**_

I told him everything.

"What?" he asked when I'd finished. "They want to sacrafice me?"

"Yes, but, if you can keep your soul in the house, you can go back to your body once it's healed," I said. "But I was really hoping that we might be able to find a way to stop the society before that happens."

Trudy was coming down the stairs. "We'll talk about it later, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'll see you in a bit." I gave him a peck on the cheek, then entered to the dining room.

_**Fabian's POV**_

_Me? They want to sacrafice me?,_ I thought. I changed into my school uniform. walk into the dining room to see Patricia, Nina, Amber, Joy, and Jerome. Nina was telling them about the sacrafice.

"We need to figure out how to stop them," Joy said. "Who knows how long it would take Fabian's body to heal. And it would just be weird knowing that." Joy cringed.

"That would be really discusting," Jerome said. That's when I walked in.

"Fabian! Good, you're here. I was telling them about-" Nina started.

"I know. I overheard," I said, taking a bite of my toast. Nina raised her eyebrows at me, then turned to look at Patricia, who had started to talk.

"Well, if we're going to do that, we'll have to explore the secret passage way in the attic," Patricia said.

"Yeah, but we'll have to do it at night. And we wouldn't want to do it on a school night. Then I would go to school looking terrible, and only you guys would know why. I say we do it this weekend," Amber said.

"Amber, did you ever think that they might take Fabian_ before _the weekend? We'll have to do it soon," Nina said. Then Mara, Mick, and Alfie came in. Mick was really sweaty. Nina told them what was going on.

"Okay, let's do it tonight. Midnight?" Nina said. We all agreed. "Sibuna," she said, covering her left eye. We all coppied her.

"I'm going to head over to school," I said, standing up and grabbing my bag.

"I'll come with you," Joy said. I looked at Joy, who was grabbing her bag, then to Nina, who had a jealous and confused expression on her face.

I leaned down to her and said, "It's okay. There's nothing between us." I pecked her cheek and walked outside, Joy following closely behind.

"So, Fabes, I-" I interupted her.

"Joy, look. I know you like me. I used to like you, but I don't anymore. So can you at least try to move on?" I said. It came out meaner than I meant.

"I have tried, Fabes. But I can't. You can't tell me that you don't feel that spark," she said.

"Yes, Joy, I can. I don't feel anything between us anymore. And if I did, it wouldn't matter because I have a girlfriend, who I care about more than anything," I said. She was silent for a moment.

I thought she was going to say something, but instead, she kissed me.

**This is where I leave you for now. So, Joy just kissed Fabian. What's gonna happen next? You'll find out when I update. Which, hopefully, will be soon.**

**Please review?**

***~apples~***


	21. The Kiss Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 21-The Kiss Aftermath**

_**Fabian's POV**_

_I thought she was going to say something, but instead, she kissed me._

I pushed Joy away. "What are you doing?" I yelled. "I already told you, I'm not interested!"

"I just wanted-"

"I don't care what you wanted! I_ thought _we could be friends again, but obviously that's not going to happen." I started to walk away.

"Fabes!" she yelled.

"Don't call me that!" I yelled back. She didn't say another word.

_**Patricia's POV**_

I had gotten up a few minutes after Joy left. Amber did too. We were going to monitor Joy and Fabian.

I saw them fighting. I saw Joy kiss him. I heard Fabian yell at her. Now Joy just stood there awkwardly. Amber and I, who were hiding behind a tree, were frozen in place. Amber's eyes were wide and her jaw dropped.

I could see tears forming in Joy's eyes. She's my _best _friend. I have to comfort her.

I got up and went over to Joy. "Are you okay?" I asked, my voice soft.

"He yelled at me, Patricia. He's never done that before. He's never been that angry before. I...I just..." Joy said. I hugged her.

"It's okay. I know what happened." I wanted to tell her what I really thought, but decided I would tell her later on account of what had just happened.

When Joy was done crying, we walked to school together in silence. I glanced back over to the tree Amber and I were hiding behind, and Amber was gone.

_**Amber's POV**_

I left after Patricia went to comfort Joy. When I was far enough away, I called Nina and told her what happened. I know I should have let Fabian tell her, but I was afraid that he wouldn't, and Nina deserved to know. I just hope I'm not responsible for ruining Fabina's relationship.

_**Nina's POV**_

After Amber called me, I left immediantly for school. I needed to see if Fabian was going to tell me or not.

When I got to school, I saw Fabian sitting outside on a bench. I sat down next to him.

"Are you okay? You seemed stressed," I said.

"Nina, there's something I need to tell you," he said. He didn't make eye contact.

"What is it?" I asked.

Just as he was about to say something, the bell rang, signaling that we only had five minutes to get to class.

"You were saying," I urged.

"Please don't get upset." he said. "When Joy and I were walking over here today, she...she kissed me." He closed his eyes. I assumed he was waiting for me to yell at him. But instead of yelling, I kissed his cheek.

He opened his eyes. "You're not mad?" he asked, finally looking at me.

"I'm not mad at you, but I am mad at Joy," I said. "I would be mad if you hadn't told me what happened, even though I already knew."

He looked at me, surprised. "How did you know?" he asked.

"Amber and Patricia followed you guys and Amber called me to tell me what happened," I said. He looked down at the ground. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm just upset that you heard it from Amber before you heard it from me," he said. I laced my fingers through his.

"She probably did that just in case you didn't tell me," I said.

"But why didn't she wait to see if I told you or not?" he asked.

"Because she's Amber," I said. He smiled at this. "Come on, we should get to class." I pulled him up and we walked to class, hand-in-hand.

_**Joy's POV**_

When Patricia and I got to school, I told her I needed to go clean myself up. I went into the bathroom and cleaned off the mascara as best I could. When I got to class, Fabian and Nina were sitting at the front table.

Nina glared at me as I passed. Fabian didn't even look at me. I sat next to Patricia, feeling like everyone was looking at me. I looked to my left. Amber was glowering at me. I looked away, pretending to write some notes in my notebook.

After class, I grabbed my bag and got out of that room. I felt like everyone was staring at me. I made my way to my locker and grabbed my French textbook. It felt like the room was spinning. I leaned my head up against the cool locker and closed my eyes.

"Joy, are you okay?" a voice asked. I turned my head to see Patricia.

"No, the room is spinning," I said.

"Close your eyes and take deep breaths," she said. I leaned up against the locker and did what she said. The next time opened my eyes, I was fine. The room wasn't spinning, and I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore.

"I'm okay now," I said. We walked to French class together, arms linked.

**This was kind of a romance chapter, due to the last chapter being more about the mystery. **

**No cliffy this time. But Joy's little incident was a little weird though, huh? She might want to watch what she does...**

**Please review?**

***~apples~***

**P.S. Did you guys see the sneak peak of House of Hello/House of Dolls?**


	22. Emotions and Justin

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely, positively nothing. Got it?**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 22**

_**Mara's POV**_

_What is he doing? _I thought as I watched Alfie doing some weird dance move.

"What is he doing?" Jerome asked.

"I think he's trying to dance," I said, snickering. Jerome laughed.

"If that's his dancing, then what's his running look like," he said. I laughed. It was our inside joke.

"Hey, babes!" Mick said from behind me.

"Hey!" I said when I turned around to face him. I gave him a peck on the cheek.

"What are you doing?" he asked, eyeing Jerome suspiciously.

"We're watching Alfie," I said, pointing to the stage. We were in the drama room with a few other houses.

"What is he doing?" Mick asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Jerome said. Suddenly, Alfie fell, causing a burst of laughter.

Alfie got up and said, "Thank you, ladies and gents!" He walked off the stage, smiling to himself. Everyone was still laughing. Then the bell rang. Alfie walked over to Jerome.

"Better get to class, mate!" Alfie said to Jerome.

"Yeah, let's go." Jerome and Alfie walked towards the door, as did many other students.

"Come on, let's get to class," I said to Mick. He took my hand and we walked to class together.

_**Amber's POV**_

I walked to class with Nina and Fabian. They are such a cute couple! I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't elected them prom King and Queen? They (probably) wouldn't be together right now, that's what!

When we got to French, I sat down next to Mara and Nina and Fabian sat together.

"So, how are things with you and Mick?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Mara said, looking up from her notebook. "Oh, fine."

"You said that a little hesitantly. Are you sure everything's okay? Because we could talk about it. I mean, I did date the guy," I said, then realized that that probably wasn't the thing to say.

"Well, okay. Mick seems a little jealous of Jerome," she said.

"He's jealous of you and Jerome?" I said, shocked. "Why? You haven't given him a reason _to_ be jealous of Jerome, have you?"

"Well, last year, when Mick was at his scholorship program, Jerome and I did spend a lot of time together," she said.

"Well, there's only one way to get Mick to stop being jealous. Just confront him about it," I told her.

"But Mick should know better! Jerome is dating Patricia, for crying out loud."

"Mara, boys aren't that smart. Especially when it comes to their girlfriends and other guys." Mrs. Andrews came into the classroom.

"But I still don't see why Mick is jealous when Jerome has a girlfriend," Mara said.

"Because! Boys are jealous of every boy their girlfriend talks to, single or not," I said.

"Okay, I'll try it," she sighed. She picked up her pen again and started writing.

_**~After Class~**_

_**Jerome's POV**_

I followed Patricia and Joy out of the room

"Joy, you wouldn't mind if I stole Patricia away for a second, would you?" I said and took Patricia's hand to hold her back. Joy kept walking. "So, why was Joy so upset earlier?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"You are a very good liar, but not good enough to fool me." I took both of her hands. "Seriously, what was wrong with her?"

"Come here," she said, leading me outside. We walked to the other side of the school, where no one was ever around. "Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Promise?" she said again.

She looked around to make sure no one was here.

"Joy kissed Fabian when they walked over today," she said.

"What? I thought she was getting over Fabian," I said.

"So did I. But Amber and I followed her and saw what happened. Fabian got really pissed."

"I would think so! Does Nina know?"

"I don't know."

"Then I'm going to go find out," I said. I started to walk away, but she grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" she whisper yelled.

"But-"

"Jerome! Please don't tell anyone. Please? For me?" she said.

I sighed. "Okay, for you," I said. She smiled and kissed me.

"Good. Now, let's get back." She started to walk away, but I pulled her back.

"I don't see why we have to get back so soon," I said. Then I kissed her. I kissed her again. And again. We snogged behind the school until the bell rang.

_**Joy's POV**_

I decided to walk to class without Patricia, seeing as she hadn't come back yet. When I got to class, I sat at and empty table. Amber was sitting with Alfie, which I guess she did because Jerome wasn't here. Soon Patricia and Jerome came in and sat at the table behind me.

Mick came in and sat down next to Mara. I looked over at them and saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Amber was glaring at me. I started to feel really self-concious. I grabbed my notebook, picked up my pen, and started writing a whole bunch of random words.

It seemed like ages before Mr. Winkler came into the class. I saw a few girls from the house we were having class with-Athena, I think-bite their lips. I rolled my eyes. As if a teacher would fall for one of them.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Everyone looked up. Standing in the door frame was a boy with jet black hair and gorgeous green eyes.

"Justin, you're late," Mr. Winkler said.

"Sorry, sir," Justin said. He looked around for an empty seat, but the only one was next to me. He finally found it and sat down.

"Anyway, please hand in your homework assignments," Mr. Winkler said. As he walked the aisles collecting papers, he said, "Today we'll be learning about the acient Greek gods and godesses."

_**~After Class~**_

I stayed seated when the bell rang and let everyone else clear out. Mr. Winkler and I were the only two left in the room.

"Joy, is everything okay?" he asked, noticing I was still here.

"Yeah, just thinking." I grabbed my bag and stood up.

"About what?" he asked. I was putting my things in my bag.

"Personal stuff, that's all." I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door.

As I was about to leave, he said, "Is this about last year?"

I stopped. "I guess you could say that," I said.

"Look, I'm sorry we had to take you away from your friends, but we really thought we were doing the right thing," he said. His voice was solemn.

"The right thing would be _not_ trying to gain eternal life. Good thing I wasn't the Chosen One or else I would have died! Literally!" I said.

"I'm sorry. We really didn't know," he said.

"Well, you and your 'society' should really be more careful," I said. I left the room really pissed off.

**This is where I stop. Joy's emotions are going crazy, huh?**

**The finale episode of season 2 was awesome and intense!**

**Please review?**

***~apples~***


	23. Another AN

**Okay, sorry that this isn't a chapter, but I have something really important to tell you if you don't already know: Nathalia Ramos will not be in season 3 if there is one. She said so herself. She said school was her first priority right now.**

**THis is my personal opinion: she's an actress. She makes a lot of money. Why does she need to go to college; I mean, she could at least put it on hold for season 3. It's not gonna kill her. She can do season 3 and tell the directors that, if there's a season 4, she won't do it. I mean, seriously. Obviously, I'm one of those people who gets ticked off **_**very**_** easily. I have a short temper, okay? Anyway, I'm very upset with her right now. I swear I will never watch a movie she's in again - **_**ever! **_**Okay, yes, it's a bit childish, but she can deal with it. THere's two kind of people on this: my side who says they won't watch a movie she's in, or the other side who says they "understand". I might get over it eventually, but it will take **_**at least **_**two years. **_**At least.**_** I know how to hold a grudge, believe me.**

**I just think she's screwing her castmates because there are also those who apply to the second type (says they "understand") who won't watch HOA because she's not in it. WHo knows? Maybe we'll the the new girl even better than Nina. Maybe she'll be a better actress. DOn't get me wrong, I think Nathalia has gotten better at acting, but they can find someone else. It's just, if there's no Nina, say goodbye to Fabina, which basically screws Fabian. I don't want Fabian to fall for someone else: Nina's his solemate, but then again I kinda do because I don't like Nathalia anymore. She's just getting on my nerves. **

**Just thought I'd let you know. I don't know when I'll update again, considering I'm mad and will be for a while, and I kinda wanna make Nina die or something in my stories, I really don't want to write about her, but I'll have to because two of my stories are about her. I just have to tell myself "Nina's a fictional character; she doesn't exist. Nathalia just portrays her, she isn't actually her. Just write what Nina would do; not Nathalia."**

**Sorry about my ranting, and I honestly don't care if you like my opinion or not; it's my opinion. It's not like I care what other people think anyway. So, if you review and I snap at you in a response or something for something you said as a joke, I'm sorry. You'll just have to tell me directly it was a joke. I'm **_**not**_** in a good mood right now.**

***~apples~***


	24. Mending

**Okay, even though this person reviewed for Alfie's secret, I'm going to explain here.**

**Review: **_**Hi! You write 2 of my absolute favorite stories on fanfic. This 1 and welcome  
>back. They have wonderful plots that I haven't seen before, and r extremely<br>interesting! And the writing is so good i wouldn't be surprised if you became  
>a best-selling author! I know you're upset about nathlia and I don't know if<br>this is why you haven't updated, but I am really hoping for you to update  
>these stories because they're amazing, and even though this nathlia thing is<br>horrible news, this is what Fanfiction is for: being able 2 make things happen  
>that really couldn't on the show! I know this review won't make much of a<br>difference, but thanks for reading and for being an awesome author!**_

**A/N: Okay, so I read this one review from Anonymous, and I wanted to reply to it.**

**No, I didn't quit writing because of Nathalia quiting, which still kinda ticks me off. I quit writing because I got kind of depressed, and I have **_**no**_** idea why. I was just depressed all the time and didn't want to do anything, I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't even feel like eating. I'm **_**so**_** sorry I quit writing, and I'm really glad you like my stories.**

**What ended up happening was, I started watching LOK (Legend of Korra), which is a spin-off series of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don't know if any of you watch it, but it's an awesome cartoon.**

**Anyway, I started watching that, and, as I got more excited about it, I got less and less depressed. I don't know, I guess it was something new to obsess over. **

**So, now, I'm back. And thank you for reviewing, and I promise I will update my other stories ASAP!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Welcome Back!: Chapter 23**

_**Nina's POV**_

I had heard Joy's rant to Mr. Winkler. I hid behind the corner as she came out. Then I went back to my locker to find Fabian. He was waiting there for me.

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded. We were going on a date today, since we both had free periods.

He took my hand and we walked out of the school and over to the gardens. The flowers were so beautiful. Fabian stopped and picked up a red rose.

He handed it to me. "For you," he said. I smiled and took the rose from him. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he put his arm around me.

"This is really beautiful," I said, seeing a bench where we could sit down.

"I've seen better," he said, looking at me. I laughed.

"I think the garden is a lot prettier than me," I said. Now he laughed.

"I don't think so. You just don't want to admit it." I sat down on the bench. He sat down next to me. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting my hair behind my ear so he could see my face. I half smiled.

"Just a little...on edge, I guess." He scooted closer to me.

"Why?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because my boyfriend could _die_ in the next 24 hours!" I yelled.

"Calm down. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not. I just...I just..." I trailed off. He put his arms around me and pulled me into a hug, my head on his chest.

He kissed my head. "I promise you everything will work out. You need to stop worrying about this," he said.

"I can't!" I screamed into his chest. He held me tighter.

"We'll figure it out later, yeah? Right now I just want to be alone with my beautiful girlfriend, pretending that everything is right in the world," he said.

"Okay." He lifted up my chin and kissed me.

_**Mara's POV**_

_Okay, here goes nothing,___I thought as I walked up to Mick. _Just confront him. Simple._

"Mick," I said.

"Yeah, babes?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Are you jealous of Jerome?" I asked plainly.

"N...No. Why would I be?" He asked. He stutters when he lies.

"Mick," I said in my warning voice.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I'm just a _little_ jealous of Clarke. It's just that you spend a lot of time with him," he said.

"He's just my friend, Mick. Besides, he has a girlfriend," I said.

"I know, Mara. But, people cheat sometimes. Amber kissed Alfie to make me jealous, she was basically cheating," he said.

"What does Amber have to do with this?" **(A/N: Sorry if Mara's acting OC, but it's sort of a drams thing)**

"Nothing. I was only using her as an example."

"Are you acussing me of cheating on you?" I said, not even listening to his previous answer.

"No. No, no, no, no. I was just saying-"

"Saying what?"

"That...that...I don't know what I was saying!"

That was when I stomped away, seriously ticked off.

_**Amber's POV**_

Wow. Big Mick and Mara fight. Pretty much everyone was staring at them. Then Mara stomped off and Mick stomped off the other way.

"I'm going to go check on Mara," I told Alfie, then followed after my friend.

I found her in the courtyard on one of the stone benches. "Mara, is everything okay?" I asked as I sat down.

"No, not even close," she said, her voice icy.

"What did he do?" I asked. I was Anubis house's resident matchmaker, I have to help couples through their problems.

"Well, I confronted him about Jerome, and then he basically accused me of cheating on him with Jerome!" she yelled.

"Boys. They don't understand how delicate a girl's feelings are. They don't understand how high maintenence we are. But we have to bear with it. Why don't you cool down, and I'll go talk to Mick about it," I said. She nodded her head.

I stood up and started across the courtyard. We still had a few more classes left today, but it was Anubis house's free period.

I finally found Mick, after stumbling upon Nina and Fabian kissing in the garden. He was in the back of school, were no one ever was.

"Mick, I need to talk to you," I said. He jumped a bit, then leaned against the wall again.

"About what? Mara and me?" he sneered.

"Yes, actually. Why did you accuse Mara of cheating on you?" I asked.

"I didn't, though! I only said that people cheat sometimes!" he yelled.

"Exactly, so you accused her of cheating!" I yelled back.

"How?"

"By saying that you were jealous of Jerome, and saying that people cheat sometimes, you subtly accused her of cheating! You probably didn't even realize what you were saying."

"Well, how was I susposed to know!"

"Honestly Mick, with your dating experience, you should know these things."

"I know, but, Mara's different than any other girl I've ever dated. She excells in school, knows sports, and can read me like a book."

"I think I know what you're feeling. You feel absolutely vunerable, don't you? You feel like she could break you with one snap of her fingers."

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Because, that's how I felt when I was dating you. I didn't know yet that that meant you loved someone," I said.

He was silent for a moment. "You're right. I do love her. I didn't even realize until now. But, how do I know she loves me?" he asked.

"Simple. First, make up with her. Second, about a week after you've made up, tell her you love her. It's that simple."

"Okay, I'll give it a shot." He started to walk back into the school, then turned around and said, "Thanks, Ambs."

"No problem." He turned and walked inside. I smiled to myself and went back inside. Another crisis, (hopfully) averted.

**That's it for now! Update's will probably be slower when HOA comes on because I'll be watching the episodes, and because of the pile of homework I'm sure I'll have.**

**Please review?**

***~apples~***


	25. AN 3

**Okay, so as you all know, I haven't posted in a while. I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry. It's just that I have been so busy with school and all this other crap that's going on in my life. **

**So, this is why I haven't been posting: My uncle died from a skin disease - took me a while to get over it. Then school was crazy. And during the school year my friend Abbi died from cancer. And then I started playing on this travel softball team. And I'm in Khoury League. Also, my computer quit working, and I ****_still _****haven't gotten a new power cord for it, so I won't be updating for a while, but when I do update again, the chapter will be long, I promise. I've also had a lot of time to read and I have many books left to read - just not enough money to buy them...**

**Yeah, so, so sorry about not updating, but I have a pretty crappy life right now. And busy. Sorry again.**

***~applesngrapes~***


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